Lips of an Angel
by Tinalouise88
Summary: Sarah and Jareth are navigating a life they never expected while living in separate worlds and dealing with repercussions of their actions. Jareth always finds himself fighting the urge to fall back into old habits, even when both of them moved on. Inspired by Lips of an Angel by Hinder. Collection of song fics.
1. Chapter 1

So this has been kicking in my head for a while. A lot of it came from the stuff I've been dealing with lately with trying to set up visitation with my stepdaughter. Her mother can be a real piece of work to deal with and that putting it nicely.

This is equally dysfunctional and sad at the same time. The song is lips of an angel by hinder. I did something different this time and work some of the lyrics in as actual Dialogue. I hope you all enjoy it.

Thank you to KBates who takes her time to enter the realm of my mind and edit my stories and give me feedback when I am unsure of things. You are amazing and awesome! And thank you for letting me rant about my life! you are a Gem!

* * *

" _Honey, why are you calling me so late_ " Jareth answered his mirror, as Sarah's face shimmered in. This was not the usual bi-yearly call; it was not June or December it was September. She looked tired. She looked exhausted as she wiped off the makeup that she wore. The room was her bedroom, he saw it before the light blue walls, the oak dresser behind her. He could see a photo of Sarah and a brunette man in a photo frame in the background. They promised to put an end to this did they not? Granted they could only end so much when they shared a child together. " _It's kinda hard to talk right now,_ " he said after a moment

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have called to you," she said meekly. "I just don't know-" she said as her voice escaped her, tears ran down her face.

" _Honey, why are you crying, is everything okay?_ " He asked quietly unsure of what brought this on.

"Just another bad night at the theatre; coming back here was supposed to be the right thing for both of us and yet it seems like a mistake. God look at me! I'm a paralegal, who does community theatre! I'm twenty-eight years old with a four-year-old with a father who supposedly lives in another country! I was supposed to follow in my mom's footsteps. I was supposed to be-" she cut herself off.

"Calm down," Jareth said with his soothing drawl his voice lowering. " _I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud_ " He added as he glanced back at the closed door. "Is Gwendolyn alright?"

"Gwen is fine. " Sarah sighed returning to a quieter voice. "I had a dream about you." She added after a long pause. "God, why do I keep doing this!" She slapped the table of her vanity angrily.

Jareth frowned, Sarah couldn't live permanently in the underground; it was against the rules of the underground, no adult could make it their home. She could visit but to stay permanently and be his was not an option. She had been twenty when she called upon him. For two years they went on pretending that they could make things work. Ignoring the one rule that ruled them; he could take no adult into his world and make a home for them. Love or not, it was not in his power. Only children could be taken. At twenty Sarah was too old, how many times had he cursed her initial rejection when she had been young. Now she would wither away. The underground would reject her being.

Gwendolyn would be an exception to the rule being his child. A child that his wife had no clue that he had, even his relationship with Gwendolyn was lacking. She showed him photos and when Gwendolyn was young she would bring the sleeping child to the magic mirror, but now she was told old to question the magic or the man in the mirror. Something they both decided would be best until she was older. Now Max was in her life and it tore him apart. Gwendolyn would have no idea her heritage till much later in life, he was just a man who sent postcards and showed up randomly for a few days at a time to say hello to her. The only other contact he had with her was using magic on a telephone that Sarah gave him to call her once a month. When he made it into a nearby town he was supposedly visiting. That way they could talk and about their days and how school was going for her.

 _Well, my girl's in the next room_

 _Sometimes I wish she was you_

 _I guess we never really moved on_

 _It's really good to hear your voice saying my name_

 _It sounds so sweet_

Sarah said his name once more. He smiled stuck in his daydream of those days. Before the whole mess happened; that night at the ball her elaborate dark wine coloured, off the shoulder with a deep v neckline gown.

God, he wanted to keep her forever; it was so long since he had her in his arms in his bed. Not since the night, they conceived Gwendolyn by sheer dumb luck after a tryst that should have never happened. Sarah had been twenty-three and just finishing up college when she told him the news late one night.

"I'm pregnant, " he remembers. "God Jareth, what did we do! You're married! What will I tell people? I don't even have a boyfriend. My parents will never understand."

Truthfully her parents weren't thrilled at the aspect of their unmarried daughter having a child; then again which parents were? She thought for a moment of terminating. Even made an appointment at her doctors; only changing her mind the day of the procedure. Deciding she was old enough to deal with this, although she was thankful for living in a country that allowed women the choice. It was becoming the norm in society to be a single parent and Sarah fashioned a story of her falling head over heels for a travelling archaeologist. She moved a few months after Gwendolyn had been born from her parent's house; into a small two bedroom apartment in an old Victorian house. Close to downtown and a short walk to the squirrel inhabited park. He would change his appearance few times a year and would visit to keep up appearances and to see Gwendolyn.

At first, it was a constant fight about child support with her father. Sarah told him off by saying she got by. The truth was impossible for him to contribute to her income with actual money; it's not that he didn't wish to, he couldn't. His gold was useless to her and he couldn't use magic to create money. He was able to manipulate records and things though; he managed to enrol Gwen in prestigious private school with tuition fully paid for. Dance lessons, child care was easy enough manipulate and helped lessen the strain on Sarah's budget.

Then the day came when she told him she met someone. Max whom Jareth found out worked at the law firm she where she was a paralegal, and he was not on the good list with the man. He heard the words once too many from the man 'Who abandons a child'? Sarah swore up and down it was never like that. There was never a relationship truly. It had all been a gigantic mess of a situation. Gwen adored Max who was a suit wearing, office working lawyer who was home for dinner and took her out Saturday mornings to the park to feed the squirrels and ducks.

Max treated the short visits of Jareth coldly. In his mind, he was a horrible father. Max was the one who coloured after school while Sarah cooked dinner. Max was the one who put her bed and tucked her in at night. Jareth learned over the past two years to ignore him.

"Jareth?" Sarah called out looking more sad and withdrawn. He wanted to walk through that mirror and take her into his arms, but he couldn't.

 _Coming from the lips of an angel_

 _Hearing those words - it makes me weak_

 _And I never wanna say goodbye_

 _But, girl, you make it hard to be faithful_

 _With the lips of an angel_

" _It's funny that you're calling me tonight,_ " Jareth smiled weakly, " _And, yes, I've dreamt of you too."_

"You dreamt of me?" Sarah smiled sadly as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "What was that dream like?" She teased him lightly.

"The usual dreams, " Jareth taunted her back, "Back when I had you in my arms; before you left me. "

"You got married, and I couldn't stay; you can't have your cake and eat it too," Sarah scoffed at him. "And considering that was six years ago and Gwennie is four that break-up didn't work out well. "

" _And does, he know you're talking to me? Will it start a fight?_ " Jareth asked her as he heard her turn towards the door as a creaking sound.

"Max is at the gym." Sarah shrugged. "Gwen has started asking about you lately. I have no idea what to tell her anymore; it's not exactly fair to either of you to keep you apart."

"I agree, but it's the best for the situation and the parties that are involved." Jareth nodded. "How about I give you a postcard to tell her that I will be in the country on a short unexpected visit and I will spend the day with her? "

"What about Tana?"

"I'll just tell her I have business. " Jareth shrugged.

"Has she never caught on?" Sarah said in somewhat disbelief mostly because he knew that Max often gave her grief of the situation with him, and Tana just seemed oblivious to it all. They had a decent relationship. It had been arranged but he cared for the woman in his own selfish ways. She just wasn't Sarah when it came down to it.

" _No, I don't think she has a clue?_ " Jareth told her truthfully.

"Jareth, " Sarah drawled with a raised eyebrow. "She can't be the blind. "

"Well, she has never questioned me about it." Jareth shrugged once more. "It's better than him either way, she wouldn't feel the need to make me feel guilty about the situation," Jareth told her coldly.

"I know I'll try to talk to him again." Sarah ran a hand through her long dark hair. "I don't get where he gets these ideas from, I have never said a bad word about you. It's just these circumstances that we cannot change, what am I supposed to do, cut you off?" Sarah sighed. "And, I would never do that you know that."

They stared at each other, the same sad look in their eyes that often came about.

"Jareth? "

 _Well, my girl's in the next room. Sometimes I wish she was you, I guess we never really moved on_

" _It's really good to hear your voice saying my name,_ _It sounds so sweet_ " Jareth changed the subject as he rests his chin on his hand. He watched Sarah laugh lightly and blush in the mirror.

"Stop that, " she warned him. "That is over with."

"It will never be over Sarah-"Jareth said under his breathe. This is why they only did that twice a year. The pull was always so strong when it came to her. It was like all his feelings for Tana disappeared when he saw Sarah. She had cut her hair the last time, but it grew out since then; she aged slightly tiny creases between her brows that she rubbed her moisturizer into.

 _Coming from the lips of an angel_

 _Hearing those words - it makes me weak_

 _And I never wanna say goodbye_

 _But, girl, you make it hard to be faithful_

 _With the lips of an angel_

"Mommy?" He heard Gwendolyn's voice come through the door that was closed in the background.

"Just a moment Gwennie!" Sarah called out grabbing her robe and covering the mirror with it before opening the door.

He heard them talk, getting slightly bitter that he couldn't see them, beside the shadows through the silk.

"Max said he would be home to tell me a story. " the tiny voice whined.

"Max will be home soon darling. " Sarah soothed her. "Go get in bed, and I'll be in to read to you till he comes home."

"Okay mommy, " Gwendolyn, chirped. "Can we read the book daddy gave me? I want to know about goblins. Max doesn't do the voices as good as you."

"Of course, go brush up I'll be right in," Sarah told her before he heard the patter of feet leave the room and the door shut.

"I'm sorry-"Sarah pulled the robe from her mirror seeing the hurt on his face.

"I'll send a postcard tomorrow and I will try and give her a call. I'll be by Saturday at the usual time," Jareth told her. His tone clipped as he tried to keep his cool demeanour.

* * *

Jareth looked in the hallway mirror of Sarah apartment or was it Max's; they moved just before the previous visit. His hair was still long on the top; brushed back and over with wisps falling forward into his face. His mismatched eyes lacking the markings on his skin. He straightened his tan suit coat, aboveground fashion was always interesting to him; and knocked the door.

He could hear the shuffling of Gwendolyn's stocking feet, as more heavy footsteps followed her. The door unlocked with a click of the lock, a chain being taken off.

"Daddy!" Gwen shrieked, she always was excited but yet cautious of the strange man who came to see her as she attached herself to his legs. Her mousy brown hair was tied into two small pigtails, her creamy skin slightly tanner from the summer. But what always got him was the same shade of her eyes she inherited from him the same mismatched eyes one blue and one grey.

"Hello Gwendolyn, " he knelt down and handed her a small bouquet of flowers. "For you, " he said with a flourish.

"Thank you, daddy!" She flushed and breathed them in. "Max do we have a vase?" She turned to the man beside her.

"I'll dig one out. " He spoke up. "Sarah had to run out for something," he explained after a moment of stony silence between the men.

"Oh- well thank you for answering the door, " Jareth replied smoothly as he stepped through the doorway.

"Come on, I was just gonna colour, till Mommy came back and then we can go to the park!" Gwen tugged at his hand. "Shoes off though." she pointed to his brown shoes.

He watched Max walk away toward the light modern looking kitchen, reaching up to the top of the cupboards. Ignoring Jareth for the most part as he and Gwen sat at the table waiting for Sarah to return.

"So Sarah said you were in Egypt this time?" Max finally spoke up as he leant against the counter with his coffee, wearing a pair of jeans with no socks and a blue polo shirt. They finally heard the door unlock itself and the heels Sarah wore click on the floor.

"Precious, I'm home!" She called out. Jareth smiled at the stolen nickname.

"Mommy!" Gwen jumped from her chair and raced down the hallway. "Daddy's here!"

"Is he now?" She exclaimed back before straightening up and kicking off her heels. His Sarah would never have worn heels, but she wasn't his Sarah anymore. Her choice of words though cut him straight into the heart.

"Hello Jareth, " Sarah told him plainly as she set down the bag of groceries on the counter. "I trust your work is going well."

"It is, " he replied with a nod of his head. "Interesting as always, the group says hello," he added after a moment meaning her friends.

Sarah smiled and nodded. "Tell them I say hello back."

"So how long are you here for?" Max inquired to him, silently judging his answer that was to come.

"Actually I have a week off, " Jareth told them. "It just worked randomly this time."

Sarah shot him a look of surprise, as Gwendolyn shrieked. "A Week a whole week!" She repeated as she hugged him. He noticed Max roll his eyes and venture off into his office. "Excuse me for a moment, " Sarah told him before leaving to follow Max.

"Daddy?" Gwendolyn tugged on his jacket. "Want to see something cool?"

"Sure, " Jareth smiled.

"You can't tell mommy. " she warned him seriously.

"Very well, " Jareth laughed lightly and watched her curiously as she held out her hand palm up. His heart started to race as he saw the crystal forming before popping away from her inexperience; she giggled as it disappeared.

"Darling, " Jareth bent down. "Why did you show me that?"

"Because you're the Goblin King, Mommy thinks I don't know but I do." Gwendolyn cocked her head. "Why didn't you make mommy queen? "

"Because I couldn't, " Jareth sighed. "How do you know this?"

"It's in my storybook, I'm smarter than I look." She told with a matter-of-factly attitude. She really was too smart for her own good.

Jareth strained his ears as he picked up the voices from behind the closed door.

"I don't like this Sarah-"

"Whether you like it or not is the issue, " Sarah cut him off. "I've been upfront about everything. Jareth is her father and has every right to see her. All I ask is for you to be civil to him."

"I just don't understand it, Sarah, he's like forty. " Max objected.

"Look the past is the past, so what he was a few years older than me. I've known him since I was fifteen-"

"Fifteen Sarah! He would have been in his twenties when you met!"

"It wasn't like that! I just knew him back then." Sarah hissed. "So get it together. We are together and Jareth is married to his work." And married he added in too her statement.

Jareth turned his attentions back to Gwen who frowned at the raised voices. She must have his hearing as well he groaned to himself.

 _It's really good to hear your voice saying my name_

 _It sounds so sweet_

 _Coming from the lips of an angel_

 _Hearing those words - it makes me weak_

 _And I never wanna say goodbye_

 _But, girl, you make it hard to be faithful_

 _With the lips of an angel_

They sat on the park bench next to each other later that day as Gwen chased the squirrels around.

"I know you heard the fight. " Sarah sighed breaking the silence.

"It's not as if he's the first person not to like me." Jareth shrugged. "I am here for Gwendolyn, nothing more."

"I'm glad you found the time-" Sarah began. "It means a lot to her."

"She's showing signs of magic," Jareth told her honestly. "She shouldn't this early. We need to tell her the full truth. I need to teach her how to control it. She'll need the underground Sarah. "

"We'll figure it out." Sarah squeezed his arm gently. Letting her hand rest on his forearm for longer than she should have.

He turned his neck to face her, to look at her beautiful features, the small smile that graced her lips as she watches Gwendolyn. Why did it have to be this way?

"Do you love him?" He asked letting the words leave his lips before he could regret them.

"Do you love her?" Sarah countered back at him with a look.

"Not like I have loved you. " Jareth admitted.

"No one will ever compare to you. " Sarah admitted quietly, her green eyes looking into his. "You gave me Gwen and the fantasy that I craved, I was just too old and now we live with the consequences of our actions."

 _And I never wanna say goodbye_

 _But, girl, you make it so hard to be faithful_

 _With the lips of an angel_

Jareth strolled into the bedchamber. Tana was sitting at her vanity wearing a frilly robe she lounged in often. A large amount of photos surrounding her on the floor; all the photo's he had of Gwen and Sarah. She looked up at him with her large blue eyes, his face most of told her the truth as she shook her head sorrowfully.

"I always wondered, but I never imagined this." Her voice low. "I didn't think you would keep something like this from me."

"It's not like that-" Jareth started as he turned to his study his amulet that was connected to the mirror. "I have to…"

"Daddy!" The familiar high pitch of Gwendolyn's voice rang out, Sarah must have shown her the mirror? He looked back at Tana.

"I'll explain everything, just let me see what she wants?" he spoke with his head low.

"Go-" was all she said, giving him the chance to turn and go into his study. All you heard him say,

 _"Honey, why are you calling me so late?"_

* * *

Well, there you go!

There may be a two more on the way. Going backwards into the story of Jareth and Sarah's relationship and how they got to this point.

Tell me what you think! The good and the bad! I love to hear your comments on my musings lol.

Tina.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi all, so I decided to do a strange almost pulp fiction sort of thing where I start at the end and work backwards. I hope it won't be too confusing._

 _Song is by Hinder Better than me._

* * *

 _I think you can do much better than me_

 _After all the lies that I made you believe_

 _Guilt kicks in and I start to see_

 _The edge of the bed where your nightgown used to be_

After everything, everything they had gone through it had come to this. He was the one that gave in and broke the promise they made. How pathetic was the situation; how pathetic was he for calling her after breaking it off with her.

It must be his imagination as he swore he saw her nightgown on the edge of his bed, even though he knew that it had to be an illusion; as he turned to see Tana sleeping peacefully beside him. Sarah always wore this cartoon character nightgown to bed so short that it just covered the cheeks of her behind. He shook his head dissolving the image in his head as he felt Tana toss about and cuddle into him in her sleep. He never felt so ashamed of himself; he was the lowest type of man there was at the moment.

She had been on a date it seemed as he showed up in her room in her apartment. It didn't take much to persuade her to be with him. It never took much.

"What are you doing here? " Sarah asked him tossing her purse on the nearby chair brushing her hair out of her eyes as she passed him. "I thought this was over? "

At twenty-three she was just finishing up her degree to be a paralegal, already interning at a local form she was dressed differently than he saw her before. She was wearing a knee length navy blue skirt with a crisp white blouse. Her long dark hair hanging down her back with straight wispy bangs falling across her forehead.

"I missed you. " Jareth told her sitting down on her bed absent mindedly twirling a crystal in his hand.

"You're married. " Sarah gave him a look.

"That doesn't mean I can't miss you. " Jareth smiled sadly at her. "I never said that I wouldn't miss you because the reality is that you haunt my every dream. "

 _I told myself I won't miss you_

 _But I remembered_

 _What it feels like beside you_

 _I really miss your hair in my face_

 _And the way your innocence tastes_

 _And I think you should know this_

 _You deserve much better than me_

Whatever he said that night had Sarah melting in his arms, which only ate at his guilt more when he returned back to the underground in the early morning after staying the night with his arms wrapped around her.

Weeks had gone by since then and yet it was still ingrained in his mind. Falling into his arms, like the year had not passed between them since they had parted. The sweet taste of her lips from the wine she had poured for them still was on the tip of his tongue; the smell of her hair and the softness of her skin as he ran his hands over her curves.

He settled down into the bed as he placed the book he was reading on the night stand. Almost automatically Tana wrapped her arms around him with her hair brushing against him, the floral scent of her shampoo wafting up his nose. He was sent back into his head. Sarah had always used fruity smelling shampoos. She had still been so innocent when they got together, fumbling around in the bedroom as she was anxious to learn all that he could teach her. Showing her what those boys have been denying her pleasure in bed.

 _While looking through your old box of notes_

 _I found those pictures I took that you were looking for_

 _If there's one memory I don't want to lose_

 _That time at the mall - you and me in the dressing room_

When they first ended things she asked from to send some photos that she had somewhere in his office. He would know the ones she meant when he found them.

The morning he found them stashed away in an old box hidden away. He was taken back to the one afternoon she dragged him to some place called the mall. He was in his human form as she called it; with slightly long hair. He was dressed in a pair of dark wash jeans and a button down shirt that was untucked. He saw their reflection in the mirror. He seemed so much older than her something he never realised before. He concentrated and de-aged himself by a few years so his glamour wasn't so shocking to people who saw them.

"Oh pretty please, Jareth! " Sarah dragged him through the doors. "I will make it worth your while. " she taunted him with a smirk as she dragged him to some store that was called Victorias Secret which as he looked around was filled with bra's and panties. All right this may not be that bad.

"No men in the change room, " the sales girl told them as he attempted to pass the doorway. "You can sit over there. " She pointed over to a line of chairs.

Sarah looked over before looking at the number of the room and rushing over to him whispering in his ear. Oh yes, that would work. He grinned and walked out the store finding a shady corner to disappear.

She was already partially changed as he popped into the small change room. Wearing a sheer baby doll her breasts pushed up and you could see her nipples through the red material.

"No? " She asked him looking in a mirror?

"Yes, " he breathed in her ear as he moved her hair away from her neck. "We are totally getting this one, "

Sarah laughed and grabbed her bag and withdrew a camera and turned the lens toward them as she pulled him into a pose.

 _I told myself I won't miss you_

 _But I remembered_

 _What it feels like beside you_

She went along with her life it seemed as he watched her from afar. Visiting family and friends, taking Toby to the movies so he wouldn't bother her parents or wake his baby sister. Sarah never mentioned her new sibling, then again she rarely talked about her family when he was there.

It was always just the two of them huddled away in her room. Sometimes venturing out for a meal or a nearby park. If they ran into friends, she always introduced him as an old friend who was in town for the day. They always stayed far away from her parents part of the large city, not wanting to explain their secret relationship. She always made the excuse that if Irene found out that she was dating she would never hear the end of it and he would be expected to come for dinner. It was too complicated to introduce him. It was too dangerous for her father to know and possibly use his connections to look for dirt on the man his daughter was with.

She was his secret.

 _I really miss your hair in my face_

 _And the way your innocence tastes_

 _And I think you should know this_

 _You deserve much better than me_

His entire court knew about Sarah, she wasn't hidden when she visited; even if they spent most of her time here in the royal bedchambers.

She was accepted and loved by the goblins who resided in his kingdom. They all wished she could stay; they all wished the impending nuptials of their King was to Sarah and not the bride who was chosen for him.

She danced around him dressed in a green ball gown with a daring neckline. The silk swished and her legs as she twirled before him, it was her first ball; well first official ball in the underground. She was laughing as he pulled her near him once more. "I do love it here. " She sobered as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love having you here. " He kissed her hair. "But we both know you cannot stay. "

"I know. " Sarah sighed. "Let's not talk about such things right now. I just want to enjoy my time here. " He found himself nodding and kissing her lips gently before sweeping her off her feet.

"Then suggest we take this to a more private place. " He grinned down at her. "If I only have limited time with you down here. "

 _I won't think about you when I'm older_

 _'Cause we never really had our closure_

 _This can't be the end_

He refused to share the bed he once had with Sarah. He moved it to another room before Tana arrived. The new bed was never quite right, always slightly too cold and too foreign to him. Even with Tana in it on certain nights when she didn't go to her own room.

She planned on trying for children quickly knowing it could and would take a while for them. He agreed the sooner an heir was born the better for the kingdom. She was adventurous and always up for something new, but it always came back to she wasn't Sarah; she could never be Sarah.

It was Sarah who was moaning his name, it wasn't Sarah's slim hips wrapped around him. It wasn't dark raven hair that Sarah possessed, but a honey blonde with silver accents that were down to her hips with various braids holding it back from her face.

 _The bed I'm lying in is getting colder_

 _Wish I never would've said it's over_

 _And I can't pretend_

He wasn't expecting her call not in the early morning requesting him to come to her. She looked a mess as she wore a pair of sweats and a tank top. He would be lying if he didn't notice the lack of a bra and how full her breasts seemed.

She passed him a plastic stick. "What are we going to do? "

His stomach lurched as he looked at the strange device with a blue coloured end. "What is this? "

"I'm pregnant Jareth. " Sarah spoke after a deep breath. "It seems your swimmers are more potent than we thought. "

"I-" Jareth stammered his palms sweating. Oh, heavens there was no way out of this one was there? What a beautiful mess he had made for himself.

 _I really miss your hair in my face_

 _And the way your innocence tastes_

 _And I think you should know this_

 _You deserve much better than me_

* * *

 _Thank you all for reading this chapter and all the reviews and follows from last chapter!_

 _Tina_


	3. Chapter 3

Song By Hinder.

This is the 'Break-up part of the story.

* * *

 _In the winding down hours_  
 _I let your heart down again_  
 _What did I do to make a scene so gory?_  
 _I'm no better than the ones before me_

Jareth watched from an outer body experience. How did it come to this? Sarah knew from the very beginning that it would be like this. Yet she was still screaming and yelling at him as he stood there allowing her vent out her anger.

He felt like he was being ripped apart as he heard her words. At first, she cried when he told her the news. They've been dancing around the inevitable for so long they almost forgot that they could not change the future.

No, he got the news from his parents that his bride was on her way. He dropped the letter as his stomach revolted at the thought of telling Sarah. They agreed that when this day came they would end it. She was not a home wrecker she told him; if they only knew how this would play out. If they only knew what the future held for them.

 _Old habits die hard_  
 _I always end up hating the end_  
 _What did I do to make a scene so gory?_  
 _I'm no better than the ones before me_

He knew this would be a mistake, how could it not have been a mistake going down this road. He thought back to the beginning, how this whole thing started with a simple call.

Sarah had been in university working on a paper for her ancient law class when a thunderstorm knocked out her power and most of the city's. A tornado warning she recalled later on one evening as she lay in his bed. All her study material had been left at school. After a brief chat with Hoggle who still harboured a slight crush on Sarah told her that the rat ran a kingdom; he might know a thing or two.

He had been wandering the labyrinth when he heard her call. It stunned him at first, why was Sarah Williams calling him? She never fully explained her reasoning that night for calling him. Something about thinking he would have some sort of knowledge of ancient laws being king from the look of his kingdom.

He still remembers as he appeared to her. While he kept tabs on her over the years, he often watched from a far. He didn't realise how much his mortal had grown over the years. She was by his calculations nineteen or twenty by now. Her hair long flowing down her back but her roots and bangs had a large amount of volume at the roots. It made him chuckle how she almost emulated his hairstyle, with the intent of being fashionable.

She hadn't realised that her call would be answered; she didn't consider the possibility of it. As the candles that flickered around her room, her childhood room because she still lived at home. You could save so much money when you lived at him, she would tell him at one point.

She turned around facing him, a look of disbelief on her face as the lighter fell from her hand.

"Hello Sa-rah," he drawled. "You called?"

"Oh my god, this is a dream." Sarah pinched herself. "I was joking, I was joking!" She shouted as looked up to her ceiling like she was talking to someone.

"What said is said," Jareth smirked. "You called, I am here."

She broke down explaining her predicament, how she had plenty of time to get books from the library but decided to go the mall with friends instead as her father and Irene were visiting her mother for the weekend with Toby. Sarah opting out to work on her paper. He chuckled shaking his head at her. His eyes roamed over her as she paced. The leggings and an oversized sweater that fell off one shoulder leaving it bare with the exception of a thick strap he figured that was her brasserie that women aboveground wore. He could make out her slim legs and what he gathered were slim hips and waist as it hung off her figure as her chest filled out the sweater. She had grown up, possibly even a taller than she had been when she was fifteen when she ran his labyrinth.

 _I_ 'm _in the middle of a breakdown_  
 _Watching you scream_  
 _In the middle of a breakdown_  
 _Screaming at me_  
 _And by the way, By the way_  
 _What made you think you'd have it your way?_  
 _And by the way, By the way_  
 _Don't say I didn't warn you that I'll always stay the same_

"I don't want to leave!"

This was her excuse, it was always her excuse; her body was already weakening from the prolonged exposure of the underground, she was an adult and adults could not make the underground their home. It was just not possible; the magic within could settle within the children and give them the magic they needed, but an adult is was not possible.

"We have no choice Sarah, you've been here too long already. " Jareth contradicted her. "We've been through this before. I cannot change the laws of the land."

"I don't want to go. " she cried tears falling from her face as her first pounded into his chest rather weakly. She lasted two weeks this time before he saw the sickness take over; her skin becoming translucent, the sleep taking over, her hair and nails becoming brittle. "It's not fair, it's never fair when it comes to us. I love you damn it and the whole god damn world is against us, against this. I just want to be with you!

"We must end this Sarah, " he told her calmly. "This must come to its end, you'll find somebody new, you'll have everything you want in life. It just won't be with me. "

"I don't want to go. " Sarah repeated herself.

 _Speechless and frozen_  
 _Uncomfortable silence again_  
 _What did I do to make a scene so gory?_  
 _I'm no better than the ones before me_  
 _I'm in the middle of a breakdown_  
 _Watching you scream_  
 _In the middle of a breakdown_  
 _Screaming at me_

They sat on the bed staring at each other, unsure of how to proceed; unsure of what to say.

"Love Me?" Sarah whispered. "Please don't make me leave without remembering what it's like,"

Jareth sighed and moved in to caress her cheek. How could he not give her this? He kissed her slowly, his tongue exploring her mouth slowly trying to slow and draw the moment. She was still dressed in a small nightshirt, with a character called snoopy on it as he pulled up over her head. Her arms raising before settling on his shoulders.

She pulled herself close to him and his bare chest; her heart beating rapidly the cool air sending goose bumps down her back causing her to shiver. He suddenly felt ashamed of himself for letting her stay this long.

"Not here," Jareth shook his head. "Let me take you home."

"I'm not a child!" She moved away from him. Her legs shaking from the sudden need to support her weight. "I'd rather die here than live without you Jareth!"

She made a quick grab for his dagger in his boot. He grabbed her swiftly, making the blade disappeared with a wave of his hand. She fell to the ground with tears falling down her fair.

"I don't want to go, don't make go back to that life of mundane experiences," she begged him. "Nothing compares to what we have here."

"What I have here, is what you cannot survive Sarah. " Jareth reminded her. It was the first time he regretted bringing her back here. He knew it was the rejection of the underground making her say and do these things; wearing her on her mind and body. This was not his Sarah, that he knew for sure.

 _And by the way_  
 _By the way_  
 _What made you think you'd have it your way?_  
 _And by the way_  
 _By the way_  
 _Don't say I didn't warn you that I'll always stay the same_

"Please sit down Sarah," he urged her pulling back up to sit on the bed.

"We talked about this, we knew this would be how it would be, " Jareth tried to make her see reason. "If you think this is not hurting me, Sarah, you are wrong. However, I am duty bound to a promise."

"We always knew it would come to this."

"What about our love?"  
"We just have to let it go, " his voice deep with the hurt of having to push her away.

 _Battered and bruised_  
 _Broken, confused_  
 _It's time we both knew, oh_  
 _Can't stop what I started_  
 _This time we both lose, lose_

She wavered as she stood, her breathing deep and heavy as her lungs fought to work. He barely caught her before she fell, sweeping her up in his arms and returning her to her small apartment she rented. Her colour already returning as her body adjusted to being in the aboveground.

He laid her out on the bed and went to prepare some tea in her small kitchen with a warming spell on the cup for when she woke up with a few biscuits to build up her strength.

He stayed watching her, her cat brushing around his ankles as he sat reading; wanting to make sure she would be alright from the prolonged exposure of the underground.

He must've dozed off because when he works up she was not in her bed; he turned at the sound of the water running in the next room. He sat there until he heard the water switch off, another few minutes before he heard the door open and her footsteps come behind him.

"I'm sorry-" was all she said her head bowed as she spoke.

"You were not well," Jareth brushed it off.

"When do you have to leave?" she asked him with a sad gaze.

"Soon."

Sarah nodded dropping her towel; the few hours sleep had done wonders she seemed alive once more. "Then shall we have one last time?"

"Sarah.." He warned her as his body was already betraying him at the sight of her nude body.

"Give me something to remember you by," Sarah pleaded and if she only knew one day she would have a permanent reminder of him in a few short years.

 _And by the way_  
 _By the way_  
 _What made you think you'd have it your way?_  
 _And by the way_  
 _By the way_  
 _Don't say I didn't warn you that I'll always stay the same_


	4. Chapter 4

This is a small change from the usual, this actually ended up being from Tana's POV and how she reacting or reacted over the past events.

 _Song is by Aqua- Be a man._

* * *

 _The world is quiet,_

 _Like there is no one around,_

 _But I feel you beside me_

 _I know the secrets,_

 _You keep locked away inside_

 _Don't understand why you're fighting_

Tana didn't know when she knew, or how she knew but it was the constant gut feeling from the day she arrived for her wedding. The sad look in his eyes that didn't quite match the smile on his face.

This was a duty, and he was trying to make the best of it for their own futures sake. Nothing was more humiliating than a failed marriage. They rarely happened because of the shame they brought on the family.

He loved another, you could not hide from the rumours and wagging tongues; she was human, she was beautiful, she was his soul mate that could not survive his own world. She understood, she tried to understand that he may never truly love her, but he seemed so attentive and caring that some days she believed that one day his past would eventually fade from his mind.

He tried so hard to give her things, please her, to make her happy within his kingdom, but at the end of the day, he always retired to his own rooms unless she asked to come to him or for him to come to her. Children were expected- and it was unknown or how long it would take to be blessed with a child. Fae reproductive cycle was one of many heart aches, that along with long life spans made children far and few.

She watched him sleep, knowing deep down that they should have called it all off but now it was too late. Now she constantly saw him fighting the reality of doing his duty and what he truly needed; she was his duty, but SHE was his need.

 _I know she must be special,_

 _This new girl by your side_

 _I seek for answers when I look into your eyes,_

 _And it hurts like hell but, I will be strong_

She knew he did something. She knew the moment, he appeared one morning after being away. The guilt in his eyes gave him away as he smiled at her over breakfast. It was a perfect illusion to everyone but her; yes he went to her that much she knew. She played along, she pretended that she knew nothing when she was around others. They were a happily married couple with so many secrets from each other.

"I will be strong, I will not disappoint my family. I will not go home ashamed, " she spoke to herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair. His guilt ridden mind tormented him for days, which turned into weeks of him silently sulking before he finally seemed to accept his own reality.

They had been married for a little over a year by now, and each month and each new cycle that started was a reminder of what she hoping and striving for. She desperately wanted to prove that she was able to have his children, she would die trying if she needed to.

She figured whatever happened with _her_ , that it was over. A one-time thing, no man would be that guilty or sad if it was a common occurrence.

 _For once in your life, be a man_

 _Just tell me the words, 'cause I know that you can_

 _Don't leave me with scars that no one can heal_

 _For once in your life - be a man_

She knew something had changed once more. It was in the middle of the afternoon when she found him in a haze in his study. Parts of her wanted him to tell the truth, but there was no sense into pushing him into something he wasn't ready to admit.

He was so frustrating, and for the first time, she was worried about herself of how this would end. Suddenly the shame and humiliation were nothing compared to living with a man who was living a lie. It was nothing compared to living a lie.

She missed a cycle that month, she didn't tell him waiting to be sure as she called the midwife.

She wasn't pregnant it turned out. Stress the midwife told her can do strange things to a woman's body.

Why couldn't he just be a man, how many would scars would she have by the end of this? Not that he was abusive, no he was one of the kindest men she has ever met, emotionally though it was beginning to take it toll.

 _You made me love you,_

 _Love you right from the start_

 _You're controlling my heart, babe_

 _Don't pack your bags yet_

 _Give me time to say goodbye (Say goodbye)_

 _Just don't leave me wounded_

 _No, I just hope you will regret the things you do_

 _Come back to me,_

 _'cause our love is the real thing_

 _And it hurts like hell, but I will be strong_

He was going away for 'Buisness' more constantly, and he always smelt of the iron based world of above. He was wavering, always looking like he wanted to say something but then lost the nerve. How long would this go on for?

Yet he still was so attentive, he always made sure to spend time with her, yet he was still always a world away. Even when she was in his bed, in his arms moaning his name; his mind was elsewhere.

He got more and more excited as time passed as if he was anxiously waiting for something to arrive which never did at least here in the underground.

It was dinnertime when he was sent a message as they ate at the small private table in their sitting room.

"I have to go, " he stood up after reading a note and making it disappear.

"Where are you going? When will you be back?" she looked at him serenely, she learned to play along early on; he had no idea what she was really thinking?

"I have an issue on the border, I am not sure how long it takes to make right," Jareth spoke kissing her tenderly on the forehead. "Don't wait up. "

She watched him practically skip out of the room, the heels of his boots skidding across the stone floor. She smiled sadly down at her plate before pushing it away; was this worth it?

Was trying to keep up this charade of a marriage worth it? She always enjoyed his company, she found him handsome and he was kind. She fell in love easily those first few week of marriage, or what she thought was love; now her heart was just breaking at the secrets he was keeping.

 _For once in your life, be a man_

 _Just tell me the words, 'cause I know that you can_

 _Don't leave me with scars that no one can heal_

 _For once in your life be a man_

He really thought she was oblivious to it all she learned as more time went on, she learned and pieced together a timetable of sorts. It was definitely _her_ ; she was the one making her husband travel between worlds or the strange conversations in his study. He never left direct evidence of his time above ground, but she noticed little things disappearing and returning from the jewellery and gold vault like he was trying to pay for something that kept being rejected month after month.

She asked for a pair of earrings she saw once tiny pearls studs that disappeared one month. The only answer she got was that he would look into it. She wanted to tell him to own up to his affairs, to choose, to just tell her the truth and stop living this lie. She would rather be shamed and humiliated and know the truth than to live in this half life. She felt sad for him that obviously, he could not have what he wanted, or the fact he felt like he needed to hide it from her.

She wanted him to be a man, but how long would that take? How long would it take for him to tell the truth and let her be free? How long would it take before the damage was too much and she was forever scarred by his actions?

 _I knew that I,_

 _I fought to keep our love strong_

 _If you leave me now,_

 _You come running back for more, babe_

 _And I hope for, and I wish for,_

 _And I pray that the words from your mouth can,_

 _Eventually, make you a man..._

She fought more than he did to keep up the image of their ever failing marriage. She tried so hard to put on the show for the court and their families. After two years of watching him be distracted by something-by someone. He suddenly changed and it was like he was his old self once again. He was coming to her, wanting her warmth beside him at night or at least he was trying to prove to be a loving husband. It was like he finally realized that what he wanted was never going to be feasible and he had a wife who wanted nothing more than to be at his side.

"I'm sorry I've been so distracted Tana, " he whispered late one night. "I promise I will try and be better. I have so many responsibilities that I sometimes forget that I have a responsibility to keep this marriage alive as well. It shouldn't be all up to you, you put up with so much grief from me over the past three years. I promise I will be a better man to you."

"You are king," she responded. "The kingdom will always come first, but I won't refuse more time with you. I miss those days reading and walking the gardens."

"I miss those days as well when things were so simple"

She frowned in the dark of the night. "You know you can always talk to me, tell me whats on your mind without any judgement." She offered, wondering if he might finally come clean.

 _For once in your life,_

 _be a man..._

 _When everything stops -_

 _for a minute in your life,_

 _I'll hope that,_

 _for once in your life, be a man_

 _(be a man)_

 _Just tell me the words, 'cause I know that you can,_

 _Don't leave me with scars,_

 _that no one can heal_

He was gone for a week, only popping in during the evenings than he would be gone. They had been doing so well over the past two years and then suddenly his attitude changed. He was angry and annoyed at something all at the same time.

She over heard a conversation as she passed by the study one evening late in the evening.

"It's funny that you're calling me tonight, " Jareth smiled weakly, "And, yes, I've dreamt of you too."

She didn't quite hear the other person.

"The usual dreams, " Jareth taunted her back, "Back when I had you in my arms; before you left me. "

"You got married, and I couldn't stay; you can't have your cake and eat it too," the woman scoffed before muttering something else she couldn't quite make out well. "

"And does, he know you're talking to me? Will it start a fight?" Jareth asked the woman. Her she realized in this moment. She had another man in her life, that was the change for Jareth. Both were in relationships that neither wanted?

"I agree, but it's the best for the situation and the parties that are involved." Jareth nodded. "How about I give you a postcard to tell her that I will be in the country on a short unexpected visit and I will spend the day with her? "

"What about Tana?"

"I'll just tell her I have business. " Jareth retorted nonchalantly. That was always his excuse business. But who was he visiting?

"Has she never caught on?" The woman asked not believing

"No, I don't think she has a clue?" Jareth replied.

Oh how wrong he was, she realized for the first time how well she played her. hand.

She found the box while looking for a book in his room that she left by accident. She didn't mean to knock it over but it happened. At first, she was puzzled until she picked up the strange glossy piece of paper with cursive writing that read a day at the park and flipped it over.

It was like looking at a younger more feminine version of her husband with mousy brown hair and his one blue and grey eye. A pink dress and white sandals on the child's feet, his smile beaming from the photo.

She picked up another this one had a woman in it, long dark hair, brilliant green eyes; this was _her_. This was the Sarah she always heard about, the exact opposite of her blonde hair and blue eyes.

She didn't hear him come in at first, not until he was standing beside her.

"I always wondered, but I never imagined this." Her voice low. "I didn't think you would keep something like this from me."

She turned as she heard a high pitch call out to him. "Daddy!"

"I'll explain everything, just let me see what she wants?" he spoke with his head low.

"Go-" she mumbled as he walked away.

 _For once in your life - be a man_

 _Be a man..._

 _Tell me the words…_

"Just tell me the truth, just man up and tell me the truth," She spoke as he entered his room from where she sat on the bed that joined their marriage six years before.

 _Once in your life..._

 _Be a man..._

 _Tell me the words..._

* * *

Let me know what you all think so far!

Tina.


	5. Chapter 5

My first chapter from Sarah's pov!

The song is Daybreak by Marie Digby it just spoke to me and how Sarah may have felt in this moment.

Thank you all for the kind reviews I love how people are reacting and understand what I'm trying to do

* * *

 _If these walls could talk_

 _They'd whisper, "Just hold on"_

 _Don't this sunshine in this place_

 _If we lose the night, it might not same_

 _Not the same, oh_

 _You look in my eyes and tell me things won't change_

 _Then I feel safe letting you go_

It wasn't even morning when Sarah's eyelids began to flutter. She was brought back to the night before as she came home from a date to find Jareth sitting in her bedroom in her small apartment.

Looking the same as before, still devilishly handsome and his hair defying gravity as he sat and picked at his nails.

"Sarah, " he breathed her name in the way that made her melt.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she tossed her purse into a chair, taking out of her hoops and placing them on the small vanity from her old room at her parents, running her hand through her hair and fixing her new bangs she still wasn't sure about since she cut them. She listened to him ramble off excuses. He looked so lonely and rather sad as she looked into his eyes. She forgot about the young man she just was on a date with as she looked into those eyes.

"I miss you, " he whispered looking at her. Her heart sank as she saw the hollowness of his eyes; those eyes that haunted her dreams at night for the past year!

She felt him move in his sleep and tightens his grip around her waist in his sleep. This should have never happened, she should have been stronger and not allowed this to happen. Yet nothing ever felt this right; so many roadblocks and complications always made it hard for them. He was married!

Nevertheless, in this moment it was all she wanted, and she never wanted it to end and she knew now he would be gone by the first morning light. She snuggled closer into him, drinking in the feeling, memorizing how it felt to be in his arms once more after a long year of trying to move on.

 _I don't wanna move_

 _Don't let go of this moment_

 _I don't wanna close my eyes_

 _Don't wanna miss a thing_

 _I don't wanna know if this is tonight_

 _Only stop time, stop daylight_

 _'Cause when day breaks_

 _It might all be over_

"I don't want you to go, " she murmured into his neck as he slept. His face softened and was always less edgy in his sleep.

"Why do you always do this to me?" She traced those cheekbones in the dark. The ones she knew by heart.

She didn't want to go back to sleep, knowing that when she woke up it would be all over for them. He would go back to his wife and she would go on living her life; it was simple as that and that terrified her. She didn't want to go back to being normal, having Irene trying to set her up every other weekend saying she studied and worked too much. She was twenty-three finishing up her paralegal studies. Her father wanted her to be a lawyer; she found herself not totally cut off for it during pre-law. She did, however, enjoy the smaller cases that paralegals often worked on and the larger cases she could help on. He had been disappointed but was glad she found something substantial for her career rather than trying to follow in her mother's footsteps on the stage.

Not that she didn't still act, she was always involved in the local theatres acting in small and large parts. She was rather famous in her small city in southern Ontario, but she had her father's common sense that told her she needed a real job to pay the bills even if she was in love with a magical goblin that defied all logic of him being real.

 _Trace my skin_

 _Hold out your hands_

 _And let me in_

 _The truth is coming through this blinds_

 _I'm afraid the truth might be unkind_

 _So unkind, oh_

 _You look in my eyes and tell me things won't change_

 _And I feel safe letting you go_

His hands roamed over her heated body, his hot wet kisses placed randomly yet so strategically on parts of her body that made her light headed with dizzying need.

Her breath was short and fast pants as she moaned his name when he hit certain areas of her body. Her back arching his tongue swirling in her belly button, licking down to her pubic area, teasing her with each swish and flick of his tongue avoiding the one area she wanted him to go.

She woke up to him devouring her body something he often did when they were together; he loved waking her up in such ways of pleasure. Even when she tried to repay him, he always managed to wake up before her; before the sun was up or just beginning to rise in the East filtering through the curtains of the room hitting their bodies as they made love leisurely. Taking their time, not rushing through the motions of their bodies moving together in sync with one another. Hips rising and falling against each other as he filled her so fully that she never forgot the feeling of him inside of her.

They didn't use protection- she groaned inwardly and she was currently off the pill. It would be fine, it'snot like it was the first time in the frenzied moments they threw all caution to the wind he himself told her. The chances of ever conceiving even with a human were slim for a Fae.

 _I don't wanna move_

 _Don't let go of this moment_

 _I don't wanna close my eyes_

 _Don't wanna miss a thing_

 _I don't wanna know this is tonight_

 _Only stop time, stop daylight_

 _'Cause when day breaks_

 _It might all be over_

 _When day, when day, when day breaks_

It was Irene who gave Sarah that knowing look over a Sunday Brunch when Sarah scrunched up her nose at her scrambled eggs. Sarah was too stubborn to see the signs or allow herself to even consider the possibility that the defied the odds as Irene pulled her into the laundry room away from little ears and most definitely her father. She spoke of casually dating a travelling man, but she never took the time to introduce them it was complicated and they never had much time together.

Her father wasn't fond of her casual dating, or maybe it was the fact that she alluded to the fact she wasn't a virgin anymore. Hearing Irene questions set her heart racing and her stomach lurching that she ran for the bathroom ready to lose her already queasy stomach.

This was not supposed to happen. She was just about to graduate and start her career. Not graduate and have a baby! The father was married and how involved could he be while not even technically human? She didn't want to know why Irene had a supply of pregnancy tests. Even knowing Toby existed because of her father and Irene; she did not want to think of them in that way. Just like her father did not think of her as a grown woman, but she was thrust into the master bathroom on the ruse of needing help with some hair problem.

Sitting on the toilet holding the small plastic stick that turned blue almost immediately, reality came crashing around her. Irene must have come in after she didn't hear a reply.

"You know Toby wasn't exactly planned, " she tried to reassure Sarah.

"I can't do this, " Sarah shook her head. "Don't say anything to Dad, he doesn't have to know. I'm single! The father is somewhere I don't know!'

"Whatever you decide," Irene nodded. "But the father-"

"We promised that we would end it, and then poof he was just there and it was like old times," Sarah spewed out. "I didn't even run out of condoms, we just didn't even think about it I'm twenty-three I should know better! "

"Everyone makes mistakes Sarah. Whatever you decide your father and I will support you." Irene laid a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. "I'm not saying he won't blow up or be disappointed but he will be supportive."

 _Don't let the break of day_

 _Change the way we feel tonight_

 _Tonight, tonight, tonight_

It was a flurry of doctor appointments, blood tests, decisions to be made of what she wanted to do. Irene had come with her that afternoon by request of the doctor. She didn't know what changed in that moment of time deciding she wanted to keep it as they handed her a gown to put on.

They drove home instead, making a plan to tell Robert about the impending grandchild, but first she needed to tell the child's father so they could at least give Robert some sort of plan for she planned to do. Thinking about telling Jareth that he was to be a father and how he would take the news did not do much for her nerves. She put on a brave face and called to him; it was past midnight when she called under the pretence he was somewhere in Europe anyway made it easier for her parents to not push her to do it. He came looking rather tired and confused about why she called to him as she stood there in a sweater and old pair of shorts.

It was a long night of what are we going to do? How is this going to work after the initial shock wore off for Jareth; he took the news rather well she decided he didn't run away, but stayed and talk it over with her. It was far from what she also dreamed about when she was younger when she thought of marriage and children for her future. It wasn't cheerful hysteria or a sweet moment; it was a moment of realization of hard truth crashing down on them that this is where their affair had brought them.

Robert was the next person she told went into a shock and then started yelling at her about how she could be so irresponsible with her life. It didn't matter she lived on her own, was in her twenties, because you got married, then you had babies. She argued back that it was the 90's there were plenty of single mothers and the stigma was less than it was a few years ago. In the end, her Father made her agree to bring the child's father around that next time he was to visit her. He wanted to meet the who refused to marry his daughter after getting her pregnant, she tried to explain that he offered but she refused not wanting to only get married because of a baby. It was a blatant lie, but it made Robert feel slightly better and nodded after a moment knowing Linda and him rushed into marriage after a pregnancy scare that turned out to be false.

 _I don't wanna move_

 _Don't wanna let go of this moment_

 _I don't wanna close my eyes_

 _Don't wanna miss a thing_

 _I don't wanna know if this is tonight_

 _Only stop time, stop daylight_

 _Cause when day breaks_

 _It might be over_

She called to him when she went into labour sending him a quick message through Hoggle, before making a fake collect call to inform him that the child was on its way. It was early morning when her waters broke and she and Irene begin to clock the contractions; the midwife told they don't come in until they reach five minutes apart.

It was dinner time when they finally made their way to the hospital, dropping Toby off with Irene's sister until further notice. She never found the notion of childbirth frightening even after all the videos and books she read; that changed when things got until full swing and took hold. Irene stayed with her as her father nervously made an excuse to go get some coffee and sat in the waiting area of the maternity ward.

It was after well after midnight when he finally appeared looking fresh off a plane from somewhere in a travelling suit and overcoat with a fedora.

"Sarah Williams?" he asked the nurse.

"Visiting hours-"

"He's the father, " Robert spoke up from the waiting area rather stiffly.

"Oh, well then I will give you this bracelet so you can come and go as you please." The nurse wrapped the hospital band around his wrist. "Room 1300 Daddy," she smiled. "She's still in labour, you haven't missed the big event."

"Thank you. " Jareth nodded as Robert joined him down the hall.

"That was a quick flight, " he spoke up curiously.

"I was France, caught the red eye last moment. It's six hours to Toronto and rented a car to get here." Jareth lied.

Robert just nodded and knocked on the door. "Everyone decent?" He spoke moderately as he heard Sarah moan and Irene called them into the room.

Jareth walked straight towards her, whether he was nervous or not she couldn't tell as he bent and kissed her forehead.

The sun was just breaking through the night sky as their daughter made her appearance. Gwendolyn Sarah called her. The sun is coming to full light as Jareth held her for the first time in his arms as Sarah watched as they were bathed in the golden sunlight of daybreak. Nothing would ever be the same, nothing would ever be called easy but seeing him cradle the tiny bundle made her believe she had made the right choice.

 _When day, when day, when day breaks_

 _It might all be over_

 _When day, when day, when day breaks_

* * *

Next chapter will be another Marie Digby song called Should of Been Simple. Give it a listen if you want a preview!

Let me know what you think about this chapter!

Tina.


	6. Chapter 6

_Well, here we go. Only a one or two more chapters I believe._

 _I hope you all enjoy this one!_

 _Song is Shoulda Been Simple By Marie Digby_

* * *

 _Had every word prepared_

 _Wasn't even scared_

 _Rehearsed the scene a million times and still felt nowhere_

 _You were just down the hall, Not knowing at all_

 _What was about to happen when I laid it on the line_

Sarah didn't know when everything started to fall apart, how long she tried to ignore the cracks that slowly were becoming bigger with each passing day. Two years of secrets, almost three actually; Max was the first man since having Gwen that didn't seem to mind her life as a single mother or jam hands. It started off innocently; flirting in the copy room, him buying her coffee in the mornings. She never spoke of Gwen at work though she had a few photos at her desk. He was leaning against her desk when he noticed the one-year-old with a toothy smile beaming up at the camera as she sat on a blanket holding her doll.

"Is that your sibling?" He asked curiously she spoke often of her younger brother, he must have thought she had another sibling?

"No, that is Gwendolyn, " Sarah begins. "My daughter," she added flushing slightly at admitting she was a mother.

"She's beautiful." Max smiled kindly. "She's blonde?" he noted her own dark hair. "With such blue eyes, her fathers?"

"Her fathers," Sarah nodded quietly. "He comes and goes because of his work." She explained. "She turns two in October." She added. "I have those papers you asked for." She changed the subject awkwardly.

 _'Cause it's written on my face_

 _Though you see it in my eyes_

 _How do you tell someone you love_

 _What's gonna hurt, Don't wanna hurt_

She never wanted to hurt him not after all this time of being together. He was kind and generous and treated her and Gwendolyn so well. She stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching put away the dishes from dinner. He learned she was a rubbish cook early on and took over in the kitchen. Gwendolyn never complained when Sarah had to cook but she always preferred Max's cooking. She was brought back to the first time he got the nerve to ask her out.

"Let me take you out to dinner," Max asked her as they finished up a case, he must have seen her worried look at the clock. They were researching for a large case for the firm, she already called the sitter once to tell her she would be late.

"The sitter can only stay till six. " Sarah explained biting her lip. "Maybe another day?"

"She is more than welcome to join us?" Max offered as Sarah chewed her lip.

"You've never dined with a child, and I don't think it's a good idea; she doesn't do well with strangers. " Sarah responded with a shake of her head before she admitted. "Getting her to remember Jareth is a feat in itself when he visits."

"Jareth?" His head tilted at the name.

"Her father," Sarah said offhandedly. "He's an archaeologist, there was never much of a relationship when we found about Gwen. He does what he can, a lot of the work is unpaid or covers his room and board and flights." She hated lying but over the past two years, she had gotten to the point where she sometimes forgot that it was a lie as it rolled so simply off her tongue.

"You have full custody?" Max asked curiously in his lawyer voice. "My apologies, that is none of my business. The lawyer side doesn't have much a filter."

"It's all right. Yes, I have sole custody in the eyes of the Canadian courts. My father made sure of that with Jareth's job being so here and there. Of course, when she is older she can have her own choice if she wishes. It would be only fair to consider his wishes." Sarah explained the circumstances.

 _This went on too long_

 _And telling you what's wrong_

 _I tried and couldn't bring myself_

 _It shoulda been simple_

 _So many times I've tried_

 _The time was never right_

 _It was so complicated_

 _It shoulda been simple_

She wasn't expecting it, not this soon. It only dug the hole deeper with each passing day when she put off telling him

She was at her parents for the planned dinner party hosted by her father and Irene for a lot of lawyers from her father firm. Sarah and Max were invited to mingle with the large firms and for Robert to show off Sarah and her accomplishments.

She was dressed in a black velvet gown with small straps that she bought after watching 'She's All That' on a night out with Max. While Max was dressed up in his blue pin stripe three button suit, with a white dress shirt and shined up shoes. Irene always to flawlessly host parties, being ever present yet still make a fabulous dinner to top it off on her own. Sarah could only make pasta and sometimes was a stretch in itself. Toby was generally fed earlier but allowed to watch the grown up and often stuck with Sarah showing his big sister his latest school report cards or his new toy car. Gwendolyn was having a slumber party at the neighbours back at the condo with her friend two doors down.

"So when you getting hitched?" The older gentleman asked Sarah as she took a sip of her Perrier. It was always the same questions at these parties, always when you getting married? Any more children?

"I don't know, I suppose that will be up to Maxwell," she said so sweetly through gritted teeth as she looked over at Max.

"Well, Sarah," Max began with a smile. "I've kept waiting for the right moment, though maybe this is telling me; this is the right moment."

Sarah saw Irene nudge her father from the corner of her eye.

"Sarah I love you, I love Gwendolyn and I want to make this permanent between us." He started off. "From the day you finally allowed me to take you out was the happiest day of my life, the day we decided to live together. I didn't know how incomplete my life was. Now as our lives continue to grow together. I ask you this. Will you Marry Me, Sarah?"

Her mind still reeling wheeled, why here? Why now? In front of everyone! How could she marry someone who didn't even know the lies she hid from them?

 _There's no time for fear_

 _This just kinda happened_

 _No matter how this ends today, I wanna leave here as friends_

 _It's not that I don't love you_

 _Don't think that I don't care_

 _We were trying to fly a plane, the wings were just not there_

She twisted her ring she wore that he had given her, she had to tell him the truth it had gone on too long. Not after the previous night at her parent's house; he had really proposed and she not knowing what else to do accepted him.

She tried so many times to tell him the truth the closer and closer they got over their relationship. Who do you explain to someone about another world? That the child he adored was not quite human as he thought?

"Are you going to stand there all night?" He called from over his shoulder his voice still distant. "There's popcorn and Gwen down for the night I thought maybe we can pop in that movie and chill out?"

Sarah sighed inwardly and pushed those thoughts back into the depths of her mind. "Sound wonderful," she smiled and walked towards him wrapping her arms around his midsection. "How did I ever manage to deserve you? Wine?" She asked him going for the fridge where the white wine was housed.

"Is that wise?" He asked rather bluntly he had been on edge since he gotten home.

Sarah furrowed her brow and gave him a look of what the fuck was he going on about.

"That there was a positive pregnancy test in our bathroom today?" Max confronted her. Which explained his stand offishness the past few days.

"Oh Max," Sarah sighed. "That wasn't mine. Angela was over with Kirby and needed some moral support. You thought it was mine?"

"Generally when only one woman lives in a place, things tend to be hers?" Max said stiffly slightly put out at her answer.

"Max you know how I feel about more kids." Sarah stepped back her hand running through her hair.

"I know you had a tough time with Gwen, but you told me you would consider it in the future." Max objected.

"Yes future the key word," Sarah gave him a look. "I promise you, that if it does ever just happen you will be the first to know. But right now at this moment, the answer is no. "

 _And it's written on my face_

 _Though you see it in my eyes_

 _How do you tell someone you love_

 _What's gonna hurt_

 _So this went on too long_

 _And telling you, "Be strong."_

 _I tried and couldn't bring myself_

 _It shoulda been simple_

 _So many times I've tried_

 _The time was never right_

 _It was so complicated_

 _It shoulda been simple_

'We need to talk. " Sarah sighed nervously stepping away from him. Trying to channel her paralegal self, but it was failing her. "About Gwen and Jareth-" she added.

"What about him?" Max's eyes narrowed as his back straightened.

"Can we sit?" Sarah asked hesitantly as she motioned to the table and when they seated themselves she began once more. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

She watched straighten himself once more, put off with her words; he was most likely assuming the worst scenario that could unfold. "At the end of this, you may want us to leave."

"Sarah-" he started to contradict her.

"Please just listen." she pleaded and looked at him until he nodded.

"First off, whatever I have told you hasn't been exactly the truth. I have been guarding these secrets for so long it becomes second nature. You know those books you find strange that Gwen loves me reading to her?"

"Those goblin books?" Max raised his eyebrow.

"Yes The Underground books, those are based on a real place." Sarah nodded. "It started when I was fifteen-" she begins. Recalling the labyrinth, wishing away Toby, meeting Jareth for the first time and rejecting him and winning, Toby back. She skipped forward to when she was in college that Storm that made it impossible to get to the library. Calling upon him in a moment of weakness, realizing that he wasn't the villain she painted him.

Then she explained the circumstances that plagued their relationship. His impending marriage, and her not being able to survive in the underground. How they tried to ignore the inevitable that came crashing around them. How they tried to put it all to rest when his bride arrived, but then one night he showed up at her apartment. It was that moment of weakness that they conceived Gwendolyn. A sobering moment of both of them when she finally told him. He was still married, as far as she knew his wife had no clue about Gwen. He didn't live in this world, which is why he couldn't give her child support. He wanted to, he tried but after two trips to a pawn shop, or auction to sell the jewels he gave her she told him to stop. It was too strange and slightly suspicious for her to keep doing.

She wanted this to stay her secret but Gwen was starting to find her powers much earlier than expected. She needed Jareth- her father to teach her how to control them. She could move freely between worlds. She could survive in the underground without worry being his child. She understood if this changed things, he went from thinking she was pregnant to find out she had been keeping this gigantic missing puzzle piece from him.

She sat there watching Max take in what she told him. It wasn't an easy thing to believe. He was a practical man. Not one who believed in fairy tales or ghost stories.

"You and him?" He started off before cutting himself off. "How do I even believe this?"

"Do you trust me?" Sarah asked him wincing as she said it.

"You lied to me…"Max said rather reluctantly. "You had an affair with a married man, who supposedly isn't even human."

"I know it's a lot to take in," Sarah said weakly.

 _Remember the day that we said that we wouldn't change_

 _We changed_

 _'Cause nothing's the same anymore since that day,_ _That day_

She loaded the last box into her car. In the end, he couldn't handle it, he seemed to handle it well enough until Jareth's schedule visit came about. Where they sat Gwen down and explained things to her. She asked to visit him in the underground, to see that world.

"I don't want you going there!"

"I can't just let her go alone! I'll only be a few days until she settled and he'll send me back." Sarah argued back.

"If you go there with him Sarah, I don't think this will work out. Hell, its has been barely working as it is!" He shouted.

"I'm not going there to fuck him, Max! This is for Gwen!"

"Well, it's not like you cared before about who was in relationships." He spat at her in anger.

She looked around the apartment they choose together, one last time. She left her ring on the table with a note that said Goodbye. I'm sorry. She locked the door and slides the key under the door. She would explain to Gwen about Max later, no need to ruin her first trip to Daddy's kingdom.

 _Shoulda been Simple_

* * *

Let me know what you think of it! I love reading your thoughts and comments.


	7. Chapter 7

This one came pretty easily to me after I heard the song!

The song is It's all coming back to me now.

the Meatloaf/Marion Raven Duet version, or even the Celine Dione version. Either works. But I just love Meatloaf!

* * *

 _There were nights when the wind was so cold_

 _That my body froze in bed if I just listened to it right outside the window_

 _There were days when the sun was so cruel_

 _That all the tears turned to dust and I just knew my eyes were drying up forever_

Jareth hadn't been expecting this to happen, not truly. Had he imagined it, sure; he thought about days where he could move freely within his own castle, to not have to hide his own child from the court and even his own parents?

Tana had left months earlier, he had been tempted to tell Sarah the news but what would good would it do? She had her own life, her own love in her life; the few times he had spoken to Gwen, she had mentioned that Mommy had gotten a pretty ring and she was excited to wear a pretty dress.

Sarah was getting married. He knew the circumstances, he knew it could never be and yet the news was like a knife twisting into his heart. Then one night she called to him, tears running down her face, makeup running down her face as she asked him if he could come for Gwen a few days sooner than what had been planned.

"Precious," he started falling back into old habits. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I told him the truth, and it all blew up. It was fine for a little while and when I mentioned bringing Gwen to you and staying for a day or two as she settled in. He accused me of a few things I did not appreciate and he didn't trust me, he threw it in my face about how Gwen came to be. I just can't be there, I packed up Gwen's things and a few things of my own and just left. We're at my parents at the moment."

"I'll come tomorrow on the same premise of going to London so she can meet some of my family, " Jareth said quickly. "I have the rooms all ready for you, you must promise though Sarah that the moment you feel the sickness you will let me know. Do not prolong your exposure."

"I promise, " Sarah nodded as she sniffled her nose and looked almost beyond the mirror. "Do you wish to say hello to Gwen?"

"Isn't it past her bed time?" His eyebrow raised knowing it was late there.

 _I finished crying in the instant that you left_

 _And I can't remember where or when or how_

 _And I banished every memory you and I have ever made_

The memories of their initial separation, his wedding flooded his mind; the left over emotions pouring into his heart. No matter how much tried over the years she still holds a place in his heart. He always put it off to the fact she was the mother of his child, but as he sat wallowing in his own self-pity he knew that was a lie that he had been telling himself. A lie so he would be able to live his own life day to day; a lie to make him believe that he didn't want her.

To have her here, in his kingdom once more might be the biggest mistake he may make. They couldn't keep running around in circles. He knew her being here was for Gwendolyn and Gwendolyn alone. Even if she was free from Max, it would never work as the situation would still be the same. She was still human and couldn't survive permanently in his world. There was no point in trying to entertain the idea of having her back in his arms.

 _But when you touch me like this_

 _And you hold me like that_

 _I just have to admit that it's all coming back to me_

 _When I touch you like this_

 _And I hold you like that_

 _It's so hard to believe but it's all coming back to me now_

Showing Gwendolyn his kingdom was something he felt so much pride in doing. Showing her what could be hers one day was magical. The labyrinth, the castle where her mother defeated him all those years ago. His actual court and Palace that wasn't as old and decrepit as the castle seemed.

He arrived at Sarah's parent's house, to pick them up. Robert gave him a stiff good day, while Irene offered him a cup of tea telling him Sarah was up stairs. "Hello Gwendolyn, " he smiled as he dug into his pocket of his travelling jacket producing small bracelet of glass beads. "I saw this on in a market place and thought of you."

"It's so pretty, " her voice filled with awe at the twinkling stones. "Thank you, " she whispered and wrapped her arms around him.

When Sarah finally showed her face, it looked like she tried to look better than she most likely felt." Jareth," she breathed his name slowly. "I didn't hear you arrive." She excused her lateness.

"I am little early, " he nodded as he sipped his tea cup with the same kingly presence she saw before as Gwendolyn sat on his lap.

"Why don't you go to the washroom before we live honey. " Sarah prodded Gwendolyn, who nodded and clambered off his lap and skipped down the hallway.

Jareth stood up, stretching his limbs out and walked over to Sarah, grasping her hand gently in his. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," Sarah nodded after a moment.

 _It's all coming back_

 _It's all coming back to me now_

 _There were moments of gold and there were flashes of light_

 _There were things I'd never do again but then they'd always seemed right_

 _There were nights of endless pleasure_

 _It was more than any laws allow baby, baby!_

 _It was their second night at the Palace when he found her sitting in the seat of a large window late one evening. The same old throw on her lap covering her legs; it was a familiar sight that took him back. How many nights had she spent in that window seat? That same old_ afghan _keeping the chill off of her. Her long raven hair shining in the moonlight, her milky skin sparkling as she watched the night sky._

If I kiss you like this,

And if you whisper like that

His mind fast tracked to the one memory of them, her back to his chest as he read to them by candle light. Pressing his lips into her neck as he nuzzled the creamy skin as hands gripped his thighs. The book is falling away from them as things got more heated between them; her hands pawing at him as her neck bent upwards kissing the underside of his jaw. He captured her mouth easily, slipping his tongue past her lips. Her tongue met his with little urging, dancing around his with such an intensity that made his desire grow.

 _It was lost long ago but it's all coming back to me_

 _If you want me like this_

 _And if you need me like that_

 _It was dead long ago but it's all coming back to me_

She twisted and pulled at her skirts of the dress he gave her, emerald green watered silk the bodice tight and boned but lacked the corset that the women of his world wore. He grasped at the laces that held it together.

Short sleeves fall down her arms as he pulled the ties away. The neckline falling away as his hands grasped the rose tipped orbs. Her head fell backwards, rolling as a moan escaped her lips. Her hips grinding into his painfully hard groin; he growled at the movement using one arm to hook around her waist to pull her closer.

 _It's so hard to resist and it's all coming back to me_

 _I can barely recall, but it's all coming back to me now…._

"I see you found your spot once more?" Jareth spoke up from his spot in the shadow; causing her to look up with a look of shock on her brow.

"You still had my blanket," she murmured, her fingers threading through the crocheted weave. "I almost asked for it back one day but I didn't want to disturb you."

"Everything you left here was safely stored away, " Jareth answered her. "Your gowns you once wore, boots the goblins had made for you for walking the labyrinth. Though you could have asked or sent a note."

"I know, but at the end of the day I think I wanted to leave those memories to rest," Sarah said softly. "Being here is just so strange after all this time. Knowing that I have to rebuild a life when I return. It's just not fair."

He found himself chuckling, even at her age of twenty-eight she still found life unfair. "Life is never fair Precious, neither of us has had good luck when it comes to relationships."

"I'm sorry about Tana, " Sarah sobered looking down at her hands in her lap.

"It went on too long, she was right in telling me to be a man," Jareth concluded more to himself than to Sarah. "I wasn't being much of one keeping secrets, I could have given her a way out ages ago if I just told her the truth instead of hiding it."

"It seems neither of us had luck in those departments. " Sarah nodded. "Sit," she said quietly after a moment of silence and so he did.

 _Thought you were history with the slamming of the door_

 _And I made myself so strong again somehow_

 _And I never wasted any of my time on you since then_

Somehow his mother had heard through the grapevine that he had company within the palace. She showed up during breakfast as Gwendolyn was energetically describing how the goblins put on a show for her.

His mother was a tall statuesque woman, the same blonde hair and straight nose, she didn't know what to expect it seemed as she took in the scene. She was probably going to scold him for having a woman in his life so soon after being left by his wife. She didn't expect to see a mousey hair child and icy blue eyes of her son. She heard the rumours, of course, but to have his-illegitimate child dining with him was just not done.

"Daddy?" Gwendolyn asked quietly.

"Gwendolyn, I would like you to meet my mother. Leonae" He spoke calmly. "Your grandmother," he added.

"Oh!" She exclaimed and jumped off her chair. Dressed in a pair of pink jeans and flower print top she ran to the woman with wide eyes. "My name is Gwendolyn, but you can call me Gwen if you like." She spoke before turning to him. "Should I curtsy? "

"What are you doing here mother?" Jareth asked coolly as he walked up to Gwendolyn and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I heard you had company, I didn't realize I would be walking into family time, " Leonae spoke with the same cool stiffness of her son.

"If you cared to listen to my side of the story you would have known." Jareth rolled his eyes. "Poppet, why don't you go find your mother and see if she's freshened up from her run this morning." He spoke to Gwen sweetly.

"Okay, " Gwen nodded. "It was nice to meet you, " she said to the woman with a small curtsy before scampering off with a footman close behind her.

"Really Jareth! That mortal again!"

 _But if I touch you like this_

 _And if you kiss me like that_

 _It was so long ago but it's all coming back to me_

 _If you touch me like this and if I kiss you like that_

 _It was gone with the wind but it's all coming back to me now_

 _It's all coming back_

 _It's all coming back to me now_

She found her old clothing as she spent the day going through the trunks with Gwendolyn while he caught up on paperwork. It was the same green silk he loved, it still fits her rather well after all the years that passed. Her body changed over the years, but it only made her more beautiful.

He remembered them dancing, the many balls he took her too, the few times she allowed herself to be tied into a corset for the sake of fashion. How he loved to undo those ties late in the night, allowing her body to fall slacken without the rigidness that kept her upright.

"Mommy, you look like a princess!" Gwendolyn gushed.

"But I am not a princess, but you are my darling, " Sarah smiled.

"Daddy, can I pretty dress?" She turned to him as he stood in the doorway of the sitting room. "Pleassseee, " she added quickly.

He found himself chuckling. "Well since you asked so politely, " he formed a crystal in his hand and floated it towards her. As it reached her out reached it popped a pink gown fell into her arms. "I hope you don't mind me changing it to pink? That is your favourite colour is it not? "

She lets out a shriek and he found her racing towards him and hugged him before running over to Sarah. "Help me?" As she pulled off her sweater leaving her in her small undershirt.

He watched Sarah carefully, she had been here for five days now, keeping careful watch over her sleeping patterns and her moods. So far she seemed to almost be thriving as Gwendolyn unearthly side was becoming more and more prominent. Her hair is turning more golden. Her ears sharpening at the corners turning into delicate points. It would all go away when she went above ground once more but down here within his kingdom she would show her unearthly traits.

There were moments of gold and there were flashes of light

There were things we'd never do again but they'd always seemed right

There were nights of endless pleasure

It was more than all your laws allow-baby, baby

"Dance?" Gwendolyn asked them. "Show me how you used to dance?" As she twirled around the dance floor. Her skirts whipping around her as she did, floating in the air.

Jareth looked towards Sarah and offered his hand to her. "One does not simply forget how to dance." He spoke knowingly.

Music filled the room as Gwendolyn stood back as she watched Sarah sink to the floor before Jareth. He had memories of Sarah wearing glittering jewels, her hair curled into a delicate tiara, a blood red gown with a low cut v down the front. He sucked in a breath as he bowed to her, offering her his hands.

The heat of her body beneath his hands, as their feet remembered the steps before they even thought about it. How many times have they danced together since they met? The first time in the enchanted peach dream, how innocent and naive she had been then. The second time was much more sensual and allowing for freedoms of the flesh. She wasn't innocent but she still blushed as he deposited her on his bed like a maiden for the first time. Divesting clothing slowly not wanting to rush the pleasure that awaited them.

 _When you touch me like this_

 _And when you hold me like that_

 _It was gone with the wind but it's all coming back to me_

 _When you see me like this_

 _And when I see you like that_

 _Then we see what we want to see- It's all coming back to me_

 _The flesh and the fantasies-all coming back to me_

 _I can barely recall, but it's all coming back to me now…_

It had been days of meticulously watching her. Yet it still seemed like she was thriving within his world. It didn't seem right, and he didn't want to wake up one morning to find her with an onset of symptoms one morning. They were sitting in her window seat once more, across from each other. Her knees pulled up to her chest, with her hair like a water fall around her.

"You need to go back, " he approached the subject carefully.

"I feel fine, can't I have a few more days?" Sarah asked him with a subtle plea.

"Something isn't right Sarah. It has been almost two weeks. You have never lasted this long with symptoms." Jareth shook his head. "I don't want to take any chances, not with you."

"So I am not imagining things?" Sarah asked him pointedly. "Something is different?"

"So you have noticed? "

"Of course I have! I would always feel so tired, my skin and hair feel brittle. This time I feel alive and have something coursing through my veins that I can only explain to sunlight. It feels like sunlight. A bright, shining feeling that runs through my body here." She said breathlessly, with a smile on her face as she described her thoughts.

He looked at curiously as she explained her phenomenon. "This makes no sense at all. " Jareth groaned. "You are an adult, there is no physical way you can become one of us, to be able to share our blood in such a way. Children are giving magic to change them, but you are talking about bonding blood when you call it sunlight in your veins. That's what you are experiencing."

"Bonding blood?" Sarah breathed.

"How families are bonded," Jareth explained.

"Gwen-" Sarah murmured.

"What about Gwen?" Jareth titled his head at her statement.

"When you are expecting your body creates more blood, the fetus and the mother share parts of that blood supply through the afterbirth. It gives oxygen and nutrients to the child and takes away any waste. What if?" Sarah stopped herself for a moment. "What if the part of her that is magically passed on to me just enough to make a difference?"

"Then there will only be one way to test out the theory," he found himself answering. "If this true?"

"I can stay here with you," Sarah finished his words for him, her chest visibly moving up and down as their minds processed what could be. She shuffled closer to him, her arms wrapping around him. "We can be a family. " She whispered into his neck.

He did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He kissed her.

 _If you forgive me all this_

 _If I forgive you all that_

 _We forgive and forget and it's all coming back to me now_

 _It's all coming back to me now_

 _We forgive and forget_

 _And it's all coming back to me now_

 _And if we_

* * *

Well, here we go! Somehow, some way Sarah can possibly stay for prolong periods of time in the underground.

I hope you all enjoyed this one!

Tina.


	8. Chapter 8

I'm not sure if I'm completely liking how this chapter went, but it seemed to scream at me saying finish me!

I hope I got what I was going for across.

I see the song less of a song about Sarah, but more of the whole situation with his kingdom and choosing what he wants in life.

The song is called Hold me by Savage Garden. I owned this cd when I was like 12 along with the first cd with Truly Madly Deeply!

* * *

 _Hey if we can't find a way out of these problems_

 _Then maybe we don't need this_

 _Standing face to face_

 _Enemies at war we build defences_

 _And secret hiding places_

If things could be any worse Jareth would be at his wit's end. His mother showing up, only led to his father visiting. He wasn't a child. He could rule over his kingdom and run his own life. However, since the news of Tana leaving got to them they were not happy with the decision. Not that they listen to his side of the story or even asked for it. He embarrassed them. All the political tactics that came with the union were tumbling down.

Tana tried to reason with her family. She chose to leave when he gave her the out. It wasn't working, they weren't happy and tired of pretending. They were better apart, four years have passed and still, they had not been blessed with a child.

"I wish you all the happiness," she said quietly they said their goodbyes. "I will try to keep my father from blowing up."

"Happiness will not change the circumstances, but thank you." Jareth nodded his head and handed her into the carriage that awaited her. " I wish that you find happiness."

Sarah had more backbone than he realized, she always was willful and had a natural sense of right and wrong. They were having tea when his father arrived, dressed in his full regalia; she stood her ground and refused to cower in his presence. Even dressed in her above ground clothing, her high waisted black skirt and pink blouse. Black patent heels that gave her a few inches next to his towering father late in the evening after a long day of work for both of them.

"Know your place woman, " the silver haired man growled. "This wouldn't be happening if you and my son knew better."

"Really? Because where I come from we generally don't arrange marriages to keep peace anymore. We negotiate and come to peace on civilized and equal terms" Sarah snapped back. "I won't lie, we made mistakes but our daughter is not one of those and never will be considered one to us, so you can quit bullshit."

"You dare speak like that to the High King!" He roared.

"Well here's the kicker, I bow to no one." Sarah laughed bitterly. "I am not your subject, I will talk how I please."

"You will never have my son! You can beguile and bewitch him but you will never be queen and your bastard will never be legitimate."

"You son is a grown man! You also dare speak of my daughter as you just have you will regret it! She is a brilliant loving, little girl who has two parents who love her dearly."

 _I might need you to hold me tonight_

 _I might need you to say it's all right_

 _I might need you to make the first stand_

 _Because tonight I'm finding it hard to be your man_

He always dreamed of the day he would have the pressure from his parents off his back. To have Sarah by his side. She wanted them to be a family, but she still had loose ends to tie up. She couldn't disappear with Gwen, she still had her job and Gwen had school to go to. She needed to find a place to live for the meanwhile; a potential war zone wasn't a place for a child.

Max took a leave of absence after the initial break-up. While Sarah lived with her parents for over a month before the trip to meet him. Realizing they had a chance to be together, came almost two months after she packed up her things. She told him her co-workers were running the rumour mill up like a storm. They always kept their relationship on the down low but it was never hidden.

She told him, Max was too much of a gentleman to spread rumours about her; but when he came with Gwen to pick up her up one afternoon that set the mill running. They never saw him before, she rarely spoke of Gwen while at work and seeing the little girl call him Daddy as she led him over to her mother small office made the office go off like a wildfire. Even after waiting almost four months before allowing him to show his presence in the office.

It was easy to almost to forget the rage and turmoil that surrounded his life in the underground' when he was above ground with Sarah and Gwen, but one could not forget what they were fighting for. He gained his crown on his own with sheer will and perseverance as the old king tested him over and over again. It was not given to him. It was go out on your own and become a man, or live under your father's thumb for the rest of your life. In the end, he still had his father trying to run his life.

Even in the dark of the night, as he rolled over his mind racing over the many things that were happening. She wrapped her hand around his without a word and pulled him close to her. He never thought he would be this scared to lose everything he ever loved in his life. His Woman, his child, his kingdom of goblins, his dreams; yet Sarah stood next to him unfazed by what plagued them.

 _Hey more than angry words I hate this silence_

 _It's getting so loud, Well I want to scream_

 _But bitterness has silenced these emotions_

 _It's getting hard to breathe_

The Silence was deafening as he stood in the middle of the Labyrinth. What used to be alive and its own entity was feeling the pressure that was placed upon the kingdom? The birds and animals fled into hiding. The fairies that once buzzed around the shrubbery buried themselves deep into their homes.

He stooped down, grabbing the earth beneath his fingers letting the dry sand crumbled and fall through his fingers. He heard the lighter footsteps of Sarah come up behind him, the familiar brown boots Hoogle had made her for her time in the Labyrinth. Soft yet sturdy enough to keep her feet from harm while in his maze come up into his line of sight.

His chest felt tighten as he tried to keep his racing mind calm. As images of Sarah and Gwen not in his plagued him. They finally somehow stumbled onto a miracle and yet it the world was determined to rip it shreds.

Tana had come from the southern isles, that always were restless always wanting more for their kingdom and were often ruthless in their attempts to get what they wanted. They always wanted more for their smaller Kingdom and when it came time to arrange a marriage he had his sights set on the only son of the high king. Jareth rather out casting himself from his family only gave his father more reason to approve the match without him knowing it like he was still a child.

Even if Tana succeeded in persuading her father in some form there would still be casualties.

 _So tell me isn't happiness_

 _Worth more than a gold and diamond ring?_

 _I'm willing to do anything_

 _To calm the storm in my heart_

 _I've never been the praying kind_

 _But lately, I've been down upon my knees_

 _Not looking for a miracle_

 _Just a reason to believe_

"Am I wrong for thinking it be easier to give this all up and banish myself and go above ground and be with you?" He spoke after a moment. "Every solution, every compromise just becomes another argument; another battle to fight and I don't know how much more I can stand." He spoke honestly. "Who needs to be king with all the jewels and rings when I can have you and Gwen?"

"I refuse to let you give up," Sarah lifted his face up towards him. "We will figure something out, but giving up your crown is only giving them what they want. You have an entire kingdom who will fight by your side which includes me, " She stared into his mismatched eyes.

"Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you?" Jareth spoke with wonder at his own question.

"Well, you knocked me up, so you're stuck with me for life or at least acquaintances for the next fourteen years." Sarah chuckled and brushed his hair from his face. "In all fairness, I learned you were a kind and just ruler who only did what I asked of him when I ran the Labyrinth. Plus those pants are a gateway drug to a girls heart." She teased him.

 _I might need you to hold me tonight_

 _I might need you to say it's all right_

 _I might need you to make the first stand_

 _Because tonight I'm finding it hard to be your man_

Having her back in her arms for the first time in so many years was surreal. The softness of her skin, the smell of her hair that tickled his nose during the nights she stayed with him or he came to her in the dark of the night. His nimble fingers tracing the vertebrae down her back, counting as he went internally. The first time he saw her body he was in awe that it once carried his child. The small jagged lines that graced her stomach and breasts were badges of honour in his opinion. She gave him a child one of the greatest gifts she could have given to one his kind.

They were both older now, both willing to not rush and enjoy the moments they had together when Gwen slept over at her grandparents much to the dismay of her uncle who was too cool to hang out with his niece since turning into a teenager.

Gwen seemed to adjust well to the many changes around her. Sarah had taken the time to explain, that while she and Max had chosen to end things. It wasn't about her, or that Max didn't want to be part of her life. That sometimes things happened between adult and even if you tried really hard; it didn't assure a happy ending. They kept their own burgeoning relationships to themselves. Not wanting to jinx anything when it came to Gwendolyn's mental state and the impending notion of war. If and when things calmed down and worked out for the better they would sit her down and give her the news.

She was slightly confused at his mother's reaction to her. Gramma Irene adored her so why didn't his mother? In the end, unsure of what his parents may do, he gave her an enchanted amulet to keep her hidden from his parents.

 _Do you remember not long ago?_

 _When we used to live for the night-time_

 _Cherish each moment_

 _Now we don't live, we exist_

 _We just run through our lives_

 _So alone that's why you've got to hold me_

The dark of the night used to be their time, the time when they danced in the candle lit ballrooms, soaked into steaming marble pools that hid in the depths of his palace. Making passionate love in every place they could find secluded enough for them. The whole palace had memories for him, even the Labyrinth If he turned to a certain corner, or saw a familiar rock his mind would take him places.

Nowadays consisted of work and after school activities with Gwen, mundane human things that became normal to him as he spent more and more time above ground in the evening.

"Daddy?"

He turned from the sink of dish water that Sarah had stuck on him.

"Yes Precious?" He spoke, curious of what she was going to say and he dried his hands and placed her up on the counter beside him.

"Can you just stay here forever, I like it when you're here."

"Forever is not long at all Sweets. " Jareth gave her a crooked smile. "But I will promise you that I will only ever be a wish away."

"Can I have cake?" She looked at him with large doe eyes.

"What did your mother say?" He asked raising an eyebrow knowing it was almost her bedtime.

"To go brush my teeth?" She smiled too sweetly. "I miss the goblins, " She sobered for a moment. Why can't I play with the goblins? "

"Soon enough you'll get to play with them," he told her as he swept her off the counter back to the floor. "Go do as you Mama says. " He patted her rear pushing her in the direction of the sky blue bathroom that had a ducky shower curtain much to Gwen delight.

He tucked Gwen into her bed and went to tell Sarah he had a few things at the palace to take care of before the night ended. It was late when he shifted back to Sarah, crawling into her bed as she curled up to him wrapping her arms around him.

 _Hey, if we can't find a way out of these problems_

 _Then maybe we don't need this_

 _Standing face to face_

 _Enemies at war we build defences_

 _And secret hiding places_

 _I might need you to hold me tonight_

 _I might need you to say it's all right_

 _I might need you to make the first stand_

 _Because tonight I'm finding it hard to be your man_

* * *

Let me know what you thought of this one!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Here is chapter 9, I don't own the song or the labyrinth I am merely borrowing both!

Song is a million reasons by lady gaga

* * *

 _You're giving me a million reasons to let you go_

 _You're giving me a million reasons to quit the show_

 _You're giving me a million reasons_

 _Give me a million reasons_

 _Giving me a million reasons_

 _About a million reasons_

Sarah had known things wouldn't be easy, things were never easy when it came to her and Jareth. She never imagined it would be this complicated although, which constantly made her torn trying to protect Gwen from the impending war of the underworld considering if her and Jareth were worth the turmoil that the Goblin Kingdom and possibly the loss of Gwen relationship with Jareth.

Things were moving so fast and so slow at the same time which made everything more frightening for her. His parent's pressure and talk of war were faster than she thought it would be; their relationship was moving as slow as molasses because she was too afraid to jinx or move too quickly. In addition, it didn't help that she still had crashed at her parents for nearly two months. Living in her old bedroom with boxes stored away in the garage until she could find a new place to live. It was tight quarters, the last time she lived with at home was when she had been put on bed rest in her last weeks of pregnancy. Irene and father insisted she come live with them when she was forced to take maternity leave early after fainting from high blood pressure.

Those weeks of doing nothing, only getting up to use the washroom and use the shower. Otherwise, her time was spent lying around the house using Toby as a butler to bring her water and snacks as her child moved around kicking her feet into parts of Sarah didn't realize exist let alone would hurt from the inside.

She read so many novels during those days of restlessness. The only trips out were to see the midwife and the occasional trip to the pharmacy or baby store. She planned on finding out during one of her ultrasounds what she was having but it seemed Gwen at the time didn't feel like cooperating so she left not knowing until the birth. Everything was neutral in colours, a few dresses were bought out of pure want, as well as small tiny vests if it was a boy. She had never been truly scared of childbirth, but the faster it approached, the more apprehensive she had gotten. Wondering if Jareth would be there? She wanted him to be there; she didn't care if it was selfish, she wanted him there for her.

 _If I had a highway, I would run for the hills_

 _If you could find a dry way, I'd forever be still_

 _But you're giving me a million reasons_

 _Give me a million reasons_

 _Giving me a million reasons_

 _About a million reasons_

She had been heartbroken when she decided she would rather leave than stay with a man who obviously couldn't trust her. She had loved Max, she wanted them to be a family but it was always in the back of her mind that he could never understand or even live up to her expectations she created in her mind of a happy family.

Jareth was always the bar of happiness, and now even that was threatened. She refused to jump into things.

'The best way to get over a man is to get under another." She heard Linda's voice tell her in her mind. She kept up a decent relationship, she visited for holidays and she always bought Gwen the most impractical outfits. Mostly she kept out of the spotlight her mother lived in, but there were always photos surfaced during visits or nights out to see the Nutcracker at Christmas time with Linda.

When Linda caught wind that Sarah was single and taking Gwen to see Jareth for an extended visit. She harped on Sarah to not pass up on a chance of happiness, or at least don't pass up a chance of sex.

She didn't expect the nostalgia, the memories that surfaced at every corner of the palace. Her things she once left there, waiting for her return like the past six years never happened. Then his mother happened, and then his father. She knew Tana leaving had imploded treaties and his kingdom threatened but to hate an innocent child blew her mind. Gwen was their grandchild and yet to them she was nothing more them scum on the floor.

 _I bow down to pray_

 _I try to make the worse seem better_

 _Lord, show me the way_

 _To cut through all this worn out leather_

 _I've got a hundred million reasons to walk away_

 _But baby, I just need one good one to stay_

She tried to so hard to be positive to be supportive because she knew he needed it more than ever. Though the first time she ran into his father she understood the gravity of the situation. If she ever though Jareth had his head up his ass; Elias his father was ten times worse, the man cared for no one but himself. High king or not, Sarah knew that type of man. A dictator and for the first time, he had someone going against his world. To make it worse it was his son who wasn't following orders, it was his Son that going against his will.

She knew the Goblin Kingdom was a separate entity of the state. It was its own state, so Elias had no control over the kingdom. Though Jareth being his son, meant he had say over Jareth's life. Agreeing to a marriage that clearly would have never worked to bring his power further over a smaller Kingdom.

Jareth played along of course with the knowledge of Gwen became known to Tana. She knew there would be consequences; she never imagined the consequence be so grave. The more time Jareth spent above ground the more she realized it was his escape.

She was never a praying type, even her year in Catholic schools, and church growing up she never considered herself religious. Though now more and more, she found herself passing by the large cathedral next to the park just to look up to the sky and say 'please help us' which led into walking into feeling whatever spiritual guidance she needed for that moment. Eventually, she was lighting candles that came with silent prayers.

 _Head stuck in a cycle, I look off and I stare_

 _It's like that I've stopped breathing, but completely aware_

 _'Cause you've given me a million reasons_

 _Give me a million reasons_

 _Giving me a million reasons_

 _About a million reasons_

She couldn't tell if Jareth knew how terrified she actually was, maybe she hides it well enough that it seemed that she was trudging along beside him like it was just another case. She knelt down flipping the kneeling board down. Her head bowed as she clutched her hands together, she still remembers the prayers she learnt as a child, the Hail Mary's, our father, she could even almost still recite the apostle's creed if she really tried hard enough.

The last time she had been in a church for this long was before Gwen was born, she had come shortly after finding out she was pregnant and decided against the procedure. Trying to decide what sort of life she wanted. The church who was always considered pro-life, she learned was more pro-birth more than anything as she sat in on an unwed mothers night that Irene had signed her up for. All the talk about keeping the child and how you could repent your sins later on after placing the child up for adoption. Abortion was the ultimate sin, how could destroy an innocent life? It was murder, but as she looked around at the young girls and women from various circumstances. She could see what would become of them. Welfare and mothers allowance, barely getting by because no one cared about you had the child, they did their part they saved an unborn life. It didn't matter what happened to the child afterwards and how they might grow up. Sarah and another young woman in the odds of having an education already, support of family that most of the girls didn't.

"This is the fourth time I've seen you here my child," She heard the voice of the older gentleman who governed this parish. Father Brian if she remembers correctly, "Is there anything you wish to let off your chest?"

"Just trying to make sense of life Father," Sarah smiled softly.

"Aren't we all," he smiled down at her, "may I?" He motioned to the pew.

"It's your church," she said somewhat wryly with a slight smile.

"It's your life," he mocked her back and took his seat, as she too sat back up. "Sarah Williams is it not?" He asked her curiously.

"You remember me?" Sarah asked rather shocked.

"One does not forget a young woman who found herself in the house a God in her time of need." He titled his head to look at her. "How is the young one?"

"She is well, she is at school at the moment with her father picking her up." Sarah smiled brightly at the thought of Gwen.

 _And if you say something that you might even mean_

 _It's hard to even fathom which parts I should believe_

 _'Cause you've given me a million reasons_

 _Give me a million reasons_

 _Givin' me a million reasons_

 _About a million reasons_

The afternoon she met Jareths father, she saw just why Jareth was frightened for his kingdom, his family. The older man was an asshole and that was calling it nicely, she actually couldn't understand how Jareth came to be so kind and caring when his parents had their head stuck up their asses.

She could see the fear in Jareth's eyes, he never wanted her to meet his father. She stood her ground trying to show Jareth that she could do this. Even if the insults hurt, he practically called her a penny whore. The last straw was when he insulted her daughter; no one spoke ill about Gwendolyn, in the corner of her eye she saw Jareth shot up from his chair like his was ready for battle.

"You son is a grown man! You also dare speak of my daughter as you just have you will regret it! She is a brilliant loving, little girl who has two parents who love her dearly." She seethed as she felt a strange clammy heat in her hands that made her wipe on her skirt in response.

"You are a mere mortal who my son well tire of as you grow old and ugly," Elias laughed in her face.

"It seems you don't realize just who I am. I am the only defeater of that Labyrinth that lies south of us. Now I haven't read much about the kingdom here in a few years, but when I have picked up a book. I DO remember reading that as a defeater; the only defeater of the Labyrinth I am Jareths equal. Now if I hadn't been so young I might have realized what Jareth was offering me that day, maybe I wouldn't have kicked myself so hard when I called to him when I was older."

"You defeated the Labyrinth?" It was the first time that Elias ever seemed to fear something.

"I ran that Labyrinth in under thirteen hours if anyone is worthy of this godforsaken place I am," Sarah flung her arms towards the window. "The labyrinth changed my life, and I will not let you destroy it recklessly because you think you know what best! This kingdom is our child's future, she will grow up knowing its paths and secrets. We are all adults! Jareth is a full grown man and yet you are still content on treating him like a child!"

 _I bow down to pray_

 _I try to make the worse seem better_

 _Lord, show me the way_

 _To cut through all this worn out leather_

 _I've got a hundred million reasons to walk away_

 _But baby, I just need one good one to stay_

"So you have conflicting families," Father Brian said solemnly. It was probably not the first time he heard of these problems.

"It's more his family had objections, mine don't seem to mind as long as I am happy. I am not good enough, I am the wrecker of everything they planned for him." Sarah sighed.

"Do you believe God, had a purpose in your meeting?"

Sarah almost snorted but managed to choke it down. If God was a trickster, sure he had a hand in the magical meeting. "It was magical and unconventional that is for certain. I guess you could call it fate that we met how we did." Sarah laughed lightly.

"God works in mysterious ways," Father Brian patted her hand. "If you are truly meant to be together as He wishes, they'll be away; he will make it happen."

"You're not going to just tell me to pray about it?" Sarah joked.

"Oh no, you must pray about it. Praying will lead you to the answers you seek, for when you open your heart God, God will show your heart the answers it seeks."

 _Oh, baby, I'm bleeding, bleeding_

 _Can't you give me what I'm needing, needing_

 _Every heartbreak makes it hard to keep the faith_

 _But baby, I just need one good one_

She clutched him, her nails digging into his shoulders as she cried out in the heat of the moment. His body over hers, it was not something they had been planning when she dropped Gwen off at a friends house. Getting naked, and having sex was the last thing on her mind; she had errands and other things to do today. Groceries to buy, bills to pay; instead, a simple kiss turned into a hungry need that took them both over after months of skirting around the subject.

How long had it been since she felt this way? He always knew his way around her body, each spot that drove her mad with lust, each ticklish section that sent her into a fit of giggles even if the caress was accidental.

As they basked in a calming sense of relief afterwards, holding each other refusing to part just yet. She thought back to finding him in the labyrinth, so quiet it was unnerving as she walked down the pathways. His offer to give up everything for her and just come live aboveground, give up his immortality to be with them.

The first time she took him to the grocery store with them, amazed at the varieties of items and how milk came prepackaged in strange bags or cartons. Butter was readily available, things he never thought about before now, he told her in confidence. That evening she sat in the kitchen watching Jareth and Gwendolyn cooking together in her tiny kitchen as the five-year-old taught him to make cookies

She loved having him here with them, but she wouldn't let him do that, she refused to allow him to give up his kingdom. They would find a way, there had to be a way to get through this. Love always won in the end?

She truly hoped so, for their sake.

 _When I bow down to pray_

 _I try to make the worse seem better_

 _Lord, show me the way_

 _To cut through all this worn out leather_

 _I've got a hundred million reasons to walk away_

 _But baby, I just need one good one, good one_

 _Tell me that you'll be the good one, good one_

 _Baby, I just need one good one to_ stay

* * *

I am sure I will have some feedback with this chapter. I grew up in the Catholic Church. While these tend to be my own views on certain subjects I know others may have others. I have a lot of issues with the church I grew up, but still, find solace in knowing that it's there for me when I am in need Said that I don't mean to devalue any others views I am simply pro-choice at the end of the day. We also don't have planned parenthood everything is done in hospitals and doctor offices from what I know and general protests about such matters are rare. We do have clinic run through the government for sexual health matters and low-cost birth control options. At least here in Ontario, we do. I can't speak for other provinces.

Also even though I haven't stated it, I picture London Ontario for this setting. I know more of Canadian laws and having lived in London which is a gorgeous old city. St. Peter's Basilica is the cathedral I have written about. It's not nearly as big as Toronto and a lovely place. Any university's or college I speak about is usually western university and Fanshawe college which I actually attended. The park I usually talk about is called Victoria Park.

Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know as usual!


	10. Chapter 10

_The Song is Trying not to Love You by Nickelback_

 _What can I say I'm Canadian and love them haha._

 _This took a dramatic turn with this song popping up. But I hope you all enjoy it!_

* * *

 _You call to me, and I fall at your feet_

 _How could anyone ask for more?_

 _And our time apart, like knives in my heart_

 _How could anyone ask for more?_

Jareth didn't know how long he had been sitting in the dark damp dungeon with the sound of trickling water around him. He didn't exactly know how he ended up here in the first place, but he knew that his father was behind it. One last attempt to get him under control and do his bidding.

Not that his father did his dirty work; no he left that to his minions, who were always happy to do the torturing. It seemed, if thinly veiled threats against him and his kingdom refused to work, torture was the next best thing. Break him of this infatuation, turn him against his own feelings with use of various methods that he didn't realize where even still around. Trying to poison his mind to make him see that, 'cunt' was only wanting nothing more than power and money.

His clothes were torn and ripped by this point. His shirt useless and his pants were dirty and bloodstained, his boots somewhere he didn't know at this point. His hair was dirty and matted together in tufts most likely. He crawled over to the stream of water washing his hands the best as he could before cupping them together and taking a long drink of water.

His daily tray of food would be arriving soon, mostly containing a half of a loaf of brown bread, hard cheese and some sort of slop of stewed meat that was already cold. If he was lucky he sometimes got grapes.

 _But if there's a pill to help me forget,_

 _God knows I haven't found it yet_

 _But I'm dying to, God I'm trying to_

It never worked; even after all the time spent torturing him. She never left his heart, little by little he faked compliance. As he worried about Sarah and Gwen, wondering what they thought? Did they think he had abandoned them? Their ideas of what happened to him, running rapidly in his mind. His magic was no good to him here, he was hopeless unless someone figured out what happened.

It was the one time he was thankful that Sarah still spoke to Hoggle and the others. Surely they would see that he was gone by means of force? Not that he remembered evening getting or how he was deposited into this cell of his. They had to know, or at least realized by now? Surely they knew he hadn't abandoned them like they were nothing to him?

The last thing he remembered was having tea in his study, trying to catch up on paperwork before heading back to Sarah who went to have dinner with her parents. She hadn't been joking when she said she wasn't a good cook, and often went over to her parents for dinner on the weekends to get out of cooking.

He was supposed to pick up Gwendolyn from school. He was going to take her to dance class and watch her twirl around her pink tutu. Her ability to dance was limited, she lacked the natural grace needed for ballet. Something she got from neither of them, as both he and Sarah were fluid as water on the dance floor. Her family still were wary of him and Sarah trying to work things out. He didn't blame them, Robert had only ever tolerated his presence when he came around. Making sure Sarah had sole custody and he just had visitation set, by Sarah. Robert was tough; he went through a divorce. His wife leaving him and their child, and after dealing with Linda's flippancies and missing scheduled visitation without a call. He would not have that for his Granddaughter.

"Oh heaven above I will get back to you Gwendolyn." He looked up to the small window that allowed the sunshine through. D

 _'Cause trying not to love you, only goes so far_

 _And trying not to need you, is tearing me apart_

 _Can't see the silver lining, from down here on the floor_

 _And I just keep on trying, but I don't know what for_

 _'Cause trying not to love you_

 _Only makes me love you more_

He tried for so long, to put away his feelings. To ignore, conceal-don't feel motto to keep himself relatively sane during the years apart. Though absence makes the heart grow fonder, and the very small amount of contact that they had for Gwendolyn's sake only kept the burning flame alive over the years.

As he curled himself into a ball on the floor, his back torn apart and bleeding from the method of torture today. Trying to break him, make him fear her as they replicated the sound of her voice with each blow. He edged closer to the steady of water letting it hit the wounds to clean them out as he lay on his stomach letting the blood halt itself.

He wasn't going to cry, he was not going to give his father that satisfaction of seeing him cry. He hadn't allowed himself cry since he was a young lad; alright that was a lie, he cried when he first held Gwendolyn in his arms. He cried like that baby he held in his arms.

He was going to get through this, he was not going to disappear on that little girl. He was not going to have Sarah's family tell her they were right. He would find some sort of way to get back to her; magic be damned. He would start finding a way out of here.

 _And this kind of pain, only time takes away_

 _That's why it's harder to let you go_

 _And nothing I can do, without thinking of you_

 _That's why it's harder to let you go_

HE finally showed up, to check up on the progress of the subject. Rehabilitation he called it, his son's rehabilitation, to get him to see the light of the situation. Of what he was throwing away by being defiant as he was.

All the years of hard work for a woman.

So the only next thing his father could think of was to make him forge,t was to try and make him forget her. She was never called Sarah though, but the voice and body were oddly similar in the shadows of the torture chamber. Her smell was different, they tried to trick him with a changeling and once he knew it was easier for him to pretend that he thought she was Sarah. Except his Sarah smelt like wildflowers and strawberries from various soaps she collected.

No, this wasn't her, this imposter. Even the best changeling his father could buy would not fool him.

Being bound to the rack this time, blindfolded hearing HER whisper unthinkable things in his ear as he felt cool metal drag across his skin. Every time he refused to answer, anytime he gave the wrong answer he groaned as they cut into his skin of his chest, right where he placed her name in the antiqued brass coloured ink in old-fashioned script. Special Elven ink that could appear and be hidden with a command. He still had to reveal it to Sarah, it was his secrets that they were hell-bent on destroying since it appeared to them. The Elven ink was indestructible, it would appear once every burn, cut and acid they put it on it healed.

The tattoo was like his love, undying.

 _But if there's a pill to help me forget,_

 _God knows I haven't found it yet_

 _But I'm dying to, God I'm trying to_

 _'Cause trying not to love you, only goes so far_

 _Trying not to need you, is tearing me apart_

 _Can't see the silver lining, from down here on the floor_

 _And I just keep on trying, but I don't know what for_

 _'Cause trying not to love you_

 _Only makes me love you more_

He had to be going insane, as he huddled in the corner on the cell. Broken like the man they made on him. The burning sensation of the ink branding him once more after the last attempt on the ink.

They never touched the one down his arm, they never touch Gwendolyn's name. Illegitimate or not she was of their blood, and blood tied you to this world. Jareth was sure he had a number of half brothers or sisters loitering around this realm. Though his father was not one of compassion and left the women to fend for themselves. He traced the ink down his arm with a small sad smile. He remembered going to the elves for that one, the scribe the only one to know the meaning behind it. All scared ink had to be worthy of its meaning, a child's name was one of those. A child so rare, he just nodded to Jareth and grabbed his tools. It was a painstaking process that took painful hours of pinpricks.

This one Sarah knew about, having shown Gwendolyn. His dress shirts kept it covered in the aboveground but he kept it less and less hidden as the ink seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and would seem odd to the humans of her world. His presence in the above ground became normal after a time. Gwendolyns school became used to him picking her up, how other mothers tried to flirt with him after hearing his accent. His eyes were always for Sarah and Sarah alone.

 _So I sit here divided, just talking to myself_

 _Was it something that I did?_

 _Was there somebody else?_

 _When a voice from behind me, that was fighting back tears_

 _Sat right down beside me, whispered right in my ear_

 _Said, I've been dying to tell you_

"I can't stop,"

"I'm going back to Max."

"He was always a better man than you could be."

It was like a nightmare, and when they found that was his weakness they used it to their advantage. He was so delusional at this point he wasn't sure what was real. He was bewildered and a head case at the thought of Sarah with another man. It made him angry, it made him volatile they found out when they first suggested it, ripping from his bounds. He went savage on his captors, leaving them bruised and bloodied before backup could be called.

He swore at this point, there was someone else in the room with him.

"We will find you. " He heard her voice so clearly. "Just hold on."

 _That trying not to love you, only went so far_

 _Trying not to need you, was tearing me apart_

 _Now I see the silver lining, from what we're fighting for_

Maybe it was a hallucination, maybe she was a ghost of Christmas past. Dress in some sort of armour. Goblin Armour with a silver broadsword in her leather gloved hands. Leather and silver breastplate covered her chest and midriff. A skirt of separated leather stuffed panels that hung around her thighs, moving and showing the tight black shorts. Thigh high boots of dragon hide with just a touch of a heel encased her legs. Just a sliver of creamy flesh showed between the shorts and boots.

"We're here Jareth, just hold on, " her voice like music to his ears, the tone that sounded right in his ears. The pitch and nuances just connected in his brain waking in conscious up.

 _We just keep on trying, we could be much more_

 _'Cause trying not to love you_

 _Oh, yeah, trying not to love you_

 _Only makes me love you more_

 _Only makes me love you more_

* * *

Well there you go!

Next Chapter will be of Sarah and all the moments during this chapter for her and how she found her Goblin Armour.

Until next time!

Tina


	11. Chapter 11

_So I had a bit of writer's block with this chapter, which is why it took so long to get out. It's not perfect and I'm still not sure if I even like it or not. Next chapter may be a bit as the song fairy has been scarce!_

 _Anyways Happy Reading!_

 _Song is What about Us by pink_

 _I own neither the song or the Labyrinth._

* * *

 _We are searchlights, we can see in the dark_

 _We are rockets, pointed up at the stars_

 _We are billions of beautiful hearts_

 _And you sold us down the river too far_

It had just been a normal day, a normal day that turned into something not so normal. She spent all morning on edge; blaming her coffee for the jitters and constant looks to the clock on the wall. Everything was fine, she told herself shaking off the strange notion that something was wrong.

She was woken up early with Jareth's arms around her, she quickly showered and did her make up as Jareth woke up Gwen and got her breakfast. It was all so domestic which made her smile as she chewed on her bagel over the sink.

Gwen had been dropped off at school. Grade one, it blew her mind that her baby was already turning six this coming November. Jareth and she walked to the coffee shop before she headed downtown to go to work, while he went to do work of his own. Promising he would grab Gwen to take her to her dance class at three-thirty. She left him with a kiss before crossing the street.

If she would have known then, to not take the feeling of dread as she filled her coffee cup in the break room. Feeling the dread runs down her spine with a shiver. Coffee over spilling the cup in her moment fleeting thoughts like something wasn't quite right.

It was three-forty when her phone rang grabbing it out of habit. "Bonjour, Hello. This is Sarah Williams Paralegal for Lancaster&Pierce."

She listened, her heart stopping. "No, that fine, if Angela can take her to dance that is fine by me. I'm not sure what happened, a no-her father was supposed to be there to pick her up. I will figure out what happened, Merci," she hung up the phone.

 _What about us?_

 _What about all the times you said you had the answers?_

 _What about us? What about all the broken happy ever afters?_

 _What about us? What about all the plans that ended in disaster?_

 _What about love? What about trust?_

 _What about us?_

She rushed home in a panic. Maybe he forgot? Maybe he fell asleep? She had no idea as she pushed her door open. "Jareth!" She called out into the silent apartment, checking the few rooms that were there to find no sign of him.

She went to her mirror. "Jareth?" She called out, watching the magic ripple within but it remained a mirror.

She turned and flicked on the radio, dread filling her stomach as she turned it to the local radio station listening intently for any mention of accidents with pedestrians. When nothing came up, she sighed. This was not like him, as she went back to the kitchen and began to cut up vegetables for tonight's salad.

The never-ending sinking feeling growing with each passing moment he did show up. She placed the knife off to the side of the sink. She faked a smile as Gwen sounded through the doorway. Preparing herself for the question of where Jareth was; she fashioned an excuse of urgent business that called him away last moment.

 _We are problems that want to be solved_

 _We are children that need to be loved_

 _We were willing, we came when you called_

 _But man you fooled us, enough is enough_

Finally when she had Gwen tucked away in bed, she called to Hoggle with her mirror. Asking him to check on the palace and see if he could find Jareth.

The look on his face, spoke a thousand words when he came back the following morning, the study in disarray with no sign of the king. He sent a secret high alert to Jareth's closets friends from over the realm. His small group of loyal members of his staff coming together to help her. Cedric his chamberlain and personal assistant, Maverick who ran the actual army of the Goblin Kingdom, Collum was the childhood friend of Jareth who lived nearby. Laurel skilled with a needle and leather worked in the armoury. She was their Queen the moment she stepped foot into the palace.

One by one they came to her, via the magic mirror. Creating a round table in the middle of her living room. They all met over the years when Sarah visited often in the years past. Maverick and Cedric often dancing with Sarah to keep her occupied when Jareth made rounds. While Laurel often helped Sarah find gowns to wear and providing female company. Collum was the only one of the group that she didn't very well, but if Jareth trusted him; she trusted him. They were never told about Gwen, kept in the dark by Jareth until it was safe to bring her into the light. That alone made them vow to help get their king back, that little girl needed her father as much as Sarah needed her soulmate.

The stood kneeling in front of her in her small living room, pledging their allegiance Queen of the Goblins, no longer as she just the defeater of the Labyrinth. It was rather a surreal moment as she felt the power flow around her from their choice. Her apartment fading away to mimic the Labyrinth with glittering molecules floating around them, it was a beautiful sight.

With her newfound status, she found herself back at the church, praying, lighting candles. Trying to figure out why this was all happening. Of all the things she and Jareth discussed they never thought his own father resort to kidnapping. Had they not had what seemed like a peaceful negotiation the week before? Had it all been a ploy to make them let their guard down?

They were fooled, they had the wool pulled over their eyes like children who believed that they could win this war. They were children who only ever wanted to be loved, Jareth wanting a family to actually care for him, instead of using him as a pawn. Herself, to prove that someone could love her and not leave her behind or replace her. It was childish, but she spent years of yearning for her parent's affections from near and far.

 _What about us?_

 _What about all the times you said you had the answers?_

 _What about us? What about all the broken happy ever afters?_

 _What about us? What about all the plans that ended in disaster?_

 _What about love? What about trust?_

 _What about us?_

Days, it took days for them to track and figure out where Jareth was captive. You could feel the energy that the Labyrinth gave her, the power once hidden within her showing its full potential. It was an awakening, she felt like wonder woman she joked. Days spent looking over maps and waiting for their spies to come back with information as she travelled between worlds. Trying to watch over Gwen and find Jareth, it took its toll as a week past and the leads were slim and her worries mounting. Each passing day the feeling they wouldn't reach him in time growing.

She heard stories of the brutality of the High King, which wouldn't stop by being his son. Collum, Cedric, Maverick began a series of lessons, defence, swordsmanship, riding at that. Laurel making her armour fit for the Goblin Queen. Arrow, puncture proof armour to protect her, truthfully she felt a little like Zena from the tv in it. The metal work, and studs along the leather cool against her skin as she moved. Tall boots that somehow stretched and stayed skin tight over her legs with the use of zippers or ties.

She had left Gwen in with parents. Stating something about a family emergency that Jareth jetted off too, that he now needed help with.

"Be good for Gramma and Grandpa," Sarah hugged her tightly. "Do be stubborn and eat your vegetables. Mommy will be back as soon as she can," she whispered into the young girl's ear. "I'll bring daddy home." She choked back a sob as she kissed the chubby cheek. To her parents, she looked like a parent who didn't want to say goodbye or leave their child. The first time Sarah went to have coffee with a friend after she had Gwen was almost an argument with Irene telling her to go be an adult for an hour or two. Gwen would survive without her for that long, that she and Toby would look after the infant.

"I will mommy, tell Daddy I love him," Gwen nodded solemnly.

 _Sticks and stones they may break these bones_

 _But then I'll be ready, are you ready?_

 _It's the start of us, waking up, come on_

 _Are you ready? I'll be ready_

 _I don't want control, I want to let go_

 _Are you ready? I'll be ready_

 _Cause now it's time to let them know_

 _We are ready_

How many days did it take for her to understand what she walking into? How many days to learn decent battle tactics and moves and how to wield a sword properly. Some called it a suicide mission but she had to try, he meant way too much to them to not even consider trying.

How many times had she cried in the middle of training, thinking she would never be strong enough, good enough to save him. No one could explain why out of nowhere she would cry out from pain clutching above her heart from a burning pain. No one could understand why, but the looks they gave each other made her wonder if they knew something they weren't telling her.

The king was not going to let go, or let this go down easy. Which only fuelled her in training, she learned quickly but was she good enough? Was the love for Jareth, and need to get back to Gwen great enough to push her through this? She felt ready, but was she ready?

What about us?

What about all the times you said you had the answers?

So what about us? What about all the broken happy ever afters?

She stared at the doors to the prison, his father laughing at her.

"You beat my son's labyrinth, I'll give you a chance to beat mine and if you reach him in the thirteen hours, you had in his you can have him." His voice laughing cruelly.

Sarah smirked why would she tell him she actually beat his son in ten hours?

"I want it in writing, " she countered back.

"Very well, " he raised an eyebrow and created a piece of paper. "If you lose though-"

"I won't lose, " Sarah spat at him.

"So cocky just like my son, no wonder you are drawn to each other, now if you lose. You will break his heart into a million pieces so he will never trust you again."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Fine, but prepare to lose," reading the paper, swiping her hand over it for any hidden clauses.

"I am ready." She stared at him with a hard look.

 _What about us? What about all the plans that ended in disaster?_

 _What about love? What about trust?_

 _What about us?_


	12. Chapter 12

Song- The Light by Disturbed.

I think there'll be a conclusion chapter to wrap everything up after this but it does feel like it drawing to a close.

Thank you for all the reviews and support of this story. You guys are all amazing!

Tina.

* * *

 _Like an unsung melody_

 _The truth is waiting there for you to find it_

 _It's not a blight, but a remedy,_

 _A clear reminder of how it began_

 _Deep inside your memory_

 _You turned away. As you struggled to find it_

 _You heard it call as you walked away_

If someone told Sarah that she would be running another maze more than a decade after her first one to find the man who she once defeated. She would have called them crazy, but here she was with little more than two weeks of training.

"Please be alright," she whispered as she clutched the small cross that dangled from her wristband. Laurel didn't understand her perchance or need for the charm, but added it because she asked. Faith was something that the Fae didn't understand; how do you look at something invisible to show you the way? Sarah gave up trying to explain, it was a mortal thing. She was raised to believe, so she believed in her own ways.

Cedric handed her a magical torch. "You are stronger than you believe, do not doubt yourself."

"Remember even in the darkest night, there is light, " Collum reminded her handing her bag full supplies and spare weapons. Sarah nodded and looked towards Maverick.

"Do not hesitate to kill, this will be a tenfold worse than Jareth's Labyrinth. Do not dwell on the bloodshed, you are linked to him, keep him in your heart and you will lead yourself to him. Follow that flicker within your heart, it will guide you."

Sarah nodded them and turned on her heel; she could do this, she knew she could do this. She had to do this.

 _A voice of calm from within the silence_

 _And for what seemed an eternity_

 _You waited. Hoping it would call out again_

 _You heard the shadow beckoning_

 _Then your fear seemed to keep you blinded_

 _You held your guard as you walked away_

Nothing is what it seemed, something she learned long ago in the labyrinth. It would be unlikely she would find help this time. She wandered the dark corridors, the flickering flame of her torch moving on the walls, giving her enough light to see in front of her.

She stops and turned to face a wall. "Allo, go this way," she heard a small voice. She knelt down and spotted a tiny worm.

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard rumours and came to find out the truth. You want to go this way, a passageway is hidden in front of you."

"Do you need help out of here?" Sarah looked around the darkness.

"No thank you," the worm shook his head. "I have my ways."

Sarah nodded and tested the wall in front of her. It was just as before, her hand went straight through the illusion of a wall. "Thank you, " she turned back to find him gone. She shook her head, headed straight.

 _When you think all is forsaken,_

 _Listen to me now_

 _Hope's not forsaken_

 _You need never feel broken again_

 _Sometimes darkness can show you the light_

Cobwebs, she grimaced she really hoped this was a prelude to spiders. She hated spiders and she crouched and went under the large webs. She is thankful she braided her hair into a French braid now. She looked at the watch that sat on her wrist. Two hours had gone by and yet it felt like she had gotten nowhere. Maybe this was a hopeless cause? Maybe it was easier just to give him up? It would make life so much easier in the long run. She shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts that came to her mind. Why would she even consider such a thing?

The further she walked the more clouded her mind became more thoughts of giving up. Not needing him, maybe being a single mother wasn't a bad thing. Maybe she could reconnect with Max? She was caught up in her mind, she missed the raised up the stone causing her to trip, a charm with a photo of Gwen dangled into sight from her bracelet. Her mind is fast-forwarding into a memory she had forgotten about.

"Daddy, watch me I can do a cartwheel now!" Gwen shouted as she ran around the playground. Her foot catching a branch before she managed to show him. Tears welling up in her eyes as she and Jareth ran towards her.

She watched him gather up Gwen and place her on the park bench. "Let me see the damage?" He asked gently as she held her knee. "It's just a small cut, close your eyes little one," he wiped her tears. She watched Gwen do as he says and saw his hand light up where it was placed on top of the scrape.

She shook from her memories as her chest burned. Through gritted teeth, she stood up slowly. "You will not win!" She screamed as she jumped up, the strange burning sensation dying away in her chest.

She caught a strange orb of light in the corner of her eyes. "Alright I shall this way I go," She decided for herself as she dusted off her legs.

 _An unforgivable tragedy_

 _The answer isn't where you think you'd find it_

 _Prepare yourself for a reckoning_

 _For when your world seems to crumble again_

 _Don't be afraid, don't turn away_

 _You're the one who can redefine it_

Bones, so many bones as she made her way through, her sword already covered in slime and other vile things she had fought her way through the previous chamber. She thought the helping hands had been bad? Those were worse, by a tenfold, she had been suddenly thankful for the full boy shorts that she had Laurel put under the skirt. Some of those creatures got slightly to handsy with her. Gripping her thighs, breasts and even her ass when they tried to draw her into them.

Of course, his father would have a disgusting chamber of zombies that tried to essentially rape her. Why wouldn't he?

Fae has an acute sense of smell. Jareth could always tell them a certain co-worker was around her, or she later found out when she and Max had been together in a physical sense when he visited Gwen. He could smell it on her and it drove him insane. Just like how the smelling his own scent on her had a calming effect. It made her question Tana, did she know about Jareth and herself before she told him?

His response was she was mortal, and the mortal realm smelt of iron. Gwen, on the other hand, had a scent that would mimic his, perhaps slightly sweet in its scent being an innocent child and female. Not something could pick up without knowing about Gwen though.

She kicked a stray bone from her path. How many creatures, people have died in this prison? She wondered to herself as she trekked forwards, she really hoped there were no fiery equivalents in this place. The thought alone made a shiver run down her spine, she never forgave them for their part in the labyrinth. No limbs should be able to be pulled off, as they could do with their own. It just wasnt natural.

 _Don't let hope become a memory_

 _Let the shadow permeate your mind and_

 _Reveal the thoughts that were tucked away_

 _So that the door can be opened again_

 _Within your darkest memories_

 _Lies the answer if you dare to find it_

 _Don't let hope become a memory_

If there was a theme to this prison, nightmares is what Sarah would call it. She grew out a lot of fears since her childhood. Darkness, spiders, small spaces are things she managed to get over. She was the one who was checking in closets and under the bed at bedtime for monsters now. However, even this place was taking its toll on her mind, in every corner something seems to be lurking. Things slithered around her boots, she still hated snakes that were the one thing she could never get over.

"Don't think about," she murmured to herself. She swore she heard cries echoing in the stone walls. Cries that seemed so familiar. The high pitch shriek when Gwen lost her soother, or the angry cry when she had been hungry. It was funny how you learned what babies wanted in their cries.

Being put on bedrest had felt like a nightmare; constant nausea was one thing to live with when you were constantly told gain more weight. Then her blood pressure spiked at work one stressful day at work and everything changed. She is told to take an easy, relax. Work stopped abruptly which only lead to her imagination running wild from boredom. She remembered having strange dreams, night terrors more like it. How many times had she dreamed about waking up in a pool of blood? Or the she gave birth to something half goblin in looks?

Now it played on her fears of a mother, subjecting her to thoughts of Gwen running out in the middle of the street and being hit by a car, being taken from the park. The little things that dwelled in the back of your mind that you tried not to think about while teaching your children why you need to look both ways and not to talk to strangers.

She pushed through the bombarding images with shaky breaths. Gwen was with her parents, she was fine. She would never know what truly happened at this stage of her life. That would be for when she was older.

 _When you think all is forsaken,_

 _Listen to me now_

 _Hope's not forsaken_

 _You need never feel broken again_

 _Sometimes darkness can show you the light_

They were the first type of humanoid she came across, and when they came after her she had a moment of panic before the training instinct came forward. She didn't see them as people, they were just creatures who were there to test her. Don't think, don't feel; just live on instinct was her motto.

It was like a dance in a way, the footwork, blocking and striking. She had a cut on her arm, on her legs. They were ruthless, but then again so was she. She wiped the back of her hand over her forehead, streaking the skin with her own blood as she stepped over the bodies through the doorway. She had been close now, things were beginning to get more eventful with each turn. She had to be close.

 _Sickening, weakening_

 _Don't let another sombre pariah consume your soul_

 _You need strengthening, toughening_

 _It takes a bit of dark to rekindle the fire burning in you_

 _Ignite the fire within you._

She heard his laugh before she saw him.

"Such a pity you turned out to be," his voice cruel. "To think he actually wanted to be with you. You think the King didn't know about everything before it happened? Of course, he did, so he sent me above ground to occupy you. He was a clever puppet for me to play with, I was so close to having you too, but of course, you could never just forget him. You always had to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"This is all a lie. " Sarah shook her head. "Max was human, he had family and history that I could see and look up! "

"Well, he was human to an extent, but do you really think that sort of man would have dated for a whore like you?" He sneered down at her. "A single mother, who relied on her parents for such much. Who could never commit to someone because she would never forget someone else? You were a good lay I give you that, but you used him-me."

"I did not-" she shouted into the darkness.

"Stop lying to yourself woman, you walked right over him." She heard something before it lands in front of her. His face was all shadows, strange tattoos covered the skin, she took a step back. "You abused his kindness and generosity."

"That's bullshit! I didn't walk out. I didn't leave without saying goodbye. I had to write my own fucking letter to Gwen from him to say goodbye so she wouldn't be more upset about him leaving the way he did! He wasn't strong enough to deal with the fact that I had a past. He's the one who proposed at my parent's dinner! Who does that? After all that I can still safely say I never cheated on him and I would never. Jareth and I only resumed our relationship after everything settled down. Even then we had a long talk about how things would work if things could work. Max broke my daughter heart and trust, which is inexcusable," she stormed, blinding light sparking from her fingertips, she blasted the sparkling crystal towards him. A shower of light filled the room, so much she had to shield her eyes from the brightness. Finally when it died away glow surrounded the doorway in front of her.

This was it.

 _When you think all is forsaken,_

 _Listen to me now_

 _Hope's not forsaken_

 _You need never feel broken again_

 _Sometimes darkness can show you the light_

"Look at me Jareth. " she urged him. "I'm here Jareth, you'll be okay. I won. Did you hear that I found him? " she shouted up into the air.

She heard the same evil laugh ring out in the air around them.

"I am worthy of him, you will hold your end of the bargain." She turned to the older man. "I defeated you."

"You defeated my prison. Yes. Though you have not defeated me."

"Then I will kill you. " Sarah stood up, covered in every substance she could think of. "I will tell you the same I told your son once before. You have no power over me, you do not control me. What are the words you like to say?

Fear me, Love me, do what I say and I will be your slave?

You fear me because for once your son decided to think for himself and I am the reason behind why. You can love me because I am the mother of your grandchild who you will never know but you will always feel in the pulse of your bloodline. You will do what I say because this over; I will be a slave to this family because I am a lover and a mother. However, you will never have power over me," she recited, praying it would work. She felt Jareth lay his hand on her shoulder behind her.

"We are the Rulers of the Goblin Kingdom, you will respect us, Father. She beat your prison she had found me. She is in my body and in my soul for all eternity." Jareth spoke calmly, the light between them growing with each beat of their hearts. "Sarah, will you fear me, love me and do what I say so I shall be your slave?"

"For as long as I breathe, " Sarah spoke, the light around them blinding everyone in the room.

 _Don't ignore, listen to me now_

 _You need never feel broken again_

 _Sometimes darkness_

 _Can show you the light_


	13. Chapter 13

I found this on the computer and decided to quickly finish it off. Sorry, it took two years to do but, it is finally finished!

The song is Gwen Stefani's Cool.

* * *

 _it's hard to remember how it felt before_

 _Now I found the love of my life..._

 _Passes things get more comfortable_

 _Everything is going right_

* * *

" Sarah?"

Sarah found herself turning to look at the middle-aged man to her left. It took a moment to register who was speaking to her as she looked him over. The suit, the hair and then the eyes it bombarded her like a wall of falling bricks. "Max?" She breathed. "Wow, it has been a long time, sorry excuse me for one moment?" She put on her mom's face put her hands on her hips.

"Gwendolyn Grace get back here!" She shouted as a tall lanky pre-teen slinked towards her. Her mousey hair had streaks of pink in it, she wore a pair of shorts and a tee shirt that said I'm a princess.

"Gwen?" Max breathed taking in the child he once considered his daughter.

"Jeez mom, really! You don't need to embarrass me?" Her voice clear as she rolled her eyes before settling on the man who stood next to her mother. "I know you," she said after a moment. 'Max wasn't it?"

"You remember? You were so young, I am surprised." Max laughed lightly running his hand through his sandy hair.

"You fed me edible food," Gwen shrugged. "Mom still can't cook by the way. I swear she had gotten worse over the years."

"I am not that bad!" Sarah objected.

"You almost poisoned dad?" Gwen cocked her eyebrow much as her father did. "I need to use the toilet

"That was an accident. Well, if you need to use the facilities then I suggest you get to it." Sarah urged her pre-teen daughter.

Max watched her head in the direction of the ladies room. "She's twelve now?" He asked.

"She is, and my god sometimes I wonder about her attitude and where it comes from?" Sarah laughed and brushed her hair out of her face.

* * *

 _And after all the obstacles_

 _It's good to see you now with someone else_

 _And it's such a miracle that you and I are still good friends_

 _After all that we've been through_

 _I know we're cool_

* * *

"So where you heading to or just come from?" Max looked at the board of arrivals and departures as he took in her luggage as they clearly hadn't checked in yet.

"We heading to London and you?" Sarah said hesitantly. They definitely weren't going to London of course. But with her parents still in the dark, it only made sense that they drop them off at the airport.

"I'm picking up Nicole, she's coming back from Vancouver," Max responded with a smile. "She works in marketing and was out there for the company she works for." He explained. "So still not good at cooking?" He joked unsure of what to say.

"Oh hush you," Sarah rolled her eyes huffing playfully. "She exaggerates, I never poisoned anyone."

"No, but even Elias know better than to touch your cooking and he's only two," Gwen piped up as she snuck up behind her mother.

"Elias?" Max furrowed his brow the name unknown to him.

"My son," Sarah explained before she heard

"Pain my a-"

"Gwendolyn!" Sarah scolded her. "What have I told you about swearing?"

"That it'd rude and unbecoming of a young lady," Gwen repeated rolling her eyes and went to sit in one of the chairs.

"Oh that girl, sometimes I wonder about her," Sarah shook her head. "I swear she is more like her father each passing day."

* * *

 _We used to think it was impossible_

 _Now you call me by my new last name_

 _Memories seem like so long ago_

 _Time always kills the pain_

* * *

"She's just testing her boundaries," Max stated as he watched the teen play on her Gameboy. "Much like Sarah Williams, I used to know…"

"Sarah King now," Sarah corrected him, before blushing and held up her hand showing off her diamond ring and wedding band.

"So Gwen's dad and you worked it out?" Max asked hesitantly unsure if he wanted to know if he had been right about them or not.

"It wasn't easy. It still isn't easy but we make it work," Sarah explained. She felt a shudder run down her spine as she thought about Jareth's father's own labyrinth. "Gwen enjoys the travels through. We found a good school that allows us to homeschool should we need to. She's a diva just like her father in many ways. Jareth has Elias at the moment, we only married a few years back. Then we had a random surprise oops moment with Elias."

Max nodded. "Nicole and I are engaged," he admitted. "The wedding is planned for the fall," he added with a smile.

"Congratulations!" Sarah smiled genuinely at him. "She must be a wonderful woman?"

"She is special," Max nodded and continued after a moment. "A surprise oops is that even possible?"

"Apparently the vasectomy didn't entirely take," Sarah laughed as she explained the lie. One she has told numerous times since then, it was easier than the truth. The truth being Jareth wasn't exactly human.

* * *

 _Remember Harbor Boulevard_

 _The dreaming days where the mess was made_

 _Look how all the kids have grown_

 _We have changed but we're still the same_

 _After all that we've been through_

 _I know we're cool_

* * *

"So how does Jareth feel about Gwen being around boys?" Max asked out of curiosity.

"He refuses to believe she is growing up why?" Sarah tilted her head at the question and turned slightly to look over at Gwen who was now talking to a young boy about their Pokemon games. Behind them was Jareth who looked like he was about to bog the poor boy. "Excuse me," Sarah sighed before walking over to her husband.

"Darling, there you are, you didn't get lost again did you?" She kissed him on the cheek. "Look here I ran into?" She successfully pulled him away from their daughter.

'She's too young-" he muttered as he adjusted the sleeping toddler in his arms. "Who did you run into?" He added looking around the airport. He never understood the ruse of flying that Sarah held onto with her parents.

"I ran into Max," Sarah responded with a bright smile. "He's flying out to Vancouver to see his fiancee," she added.

Both men looked at each other for a long moment. Neither liked each other and barely tolerated each others presence back then. Jareth grinned as he saw the other man shuffle his feet for a moment. He won Sarah in the end, and now Max was seeing them together as a happy family.

"Maxwell, "Jareth voice boomed as he held out on hand while holding on to his son with the other.

"Jareth," Max nodded and shook the offered hand with a firm grip. Both gave each other a hard look. Even after many years, they were still tense with each other. They both remember the past. While Max didn't entirely remember everything that went down. Thanks to magic, he did remember his disdain for Sarah's ex.

Sarah reached for her son, soon afterwards who woke up grumbling at the change of arms. "Mommy?" He asked looking around, the last thing he remembers was being in the car.

"Its all right baby," She whispered kissing his hair as max watched. He remembered those days when Gwen had been young. Watching Sarah had that same peaceful look of motherhood on her face. Back then he wanted children with her and she always told him she wasn't ready for more. That she wasn't sure if she wanted more, yet here she was with a young son.

The overhead speakers came one announcing the arriving flights. Turned out that Nicole was a pretty blonde. Not that Sarah was jealous, she was a Queen after all.

"We're heading to Starbucks quickly," she spoke up after a moment. Trying to tell Max that they had to leave.

"Oh, Nicole, these are Jareth and Sarah, the young ones are Gwen and Elias," Max turned to them introducing them. "We knew each other back in the day."

"It's nice to meet you," Nicole smiled brightly. "Do you mind if we join you? I am in dire need of a coffee?" She wouldn't mention how the young girl reminded her a few old silly photos that Max had in some albums. They had been friends after all, why was it so strange?

"Of course not," Sarah shook her head. "Please do, we arrived early anyway."

* * *

 _And I'll be happy for you_

 _If you can be happy for me_

 _Circles and triangles, and now we're hanging out with your new girlfriend_

 _So far from where we've been_

 _I know we're cool_

* * *

Well, there you have it. It is finished!


End file.
